To Return
by Kagerou Fuji
Summary: Have you ever heard the saying, ‘They need to stop living in the past’? For three selected people, it’s literally true. Yukimura x Fuji AUish
1. Chapter 1

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

'Kay! Kagerou is back with another Tenipuri fanfiction for you all to read and review! D This one is more like Painless than all my others, because it's slightly sci-fi. But it's also like Painless because there's romance! -gigglesnort- Okay, I'm done. But again, like always, this story is already written before hand, so there's not much waiting for you, and I can assure you that I will finish it. Because it's already finished! It differs from Painless because, instead of Atobe and Fuji, it's Yukimura and Fuji. And Tezuka doesn't really appear much at all in this story! And neither does Ryoma, or any Seigaku people, for that matter. Because this story centers around a different school (bet you can figure out what it is).

Also, I think YukiFuji needs a name. Like all the other pairings out there. Any ideas? Include them in your review when you read, review, and enjoy! D

**Chapter 1:**

2018—Fuji Syusuke is 26 years old

"Syusuke!!! Wake up, now!" Fuji heard a shrill voice scream over the intercom. He rolled over in his elegant bed and lay for a while, until he finally followed his wife's commands and got up. Yes, he had a wife, and three children. He didn't really love his wife, but neither of them could do anything about an arranged marriage.

Fuji's feet touched the cold marble floor, and he virtually hopped over to the closet. One of the children was at day care, and the other two, twins, were screaming at the top of their lungs. Even if the intercom had not been turned on, he would've probably been able to hear it.

Fuji sighed and walked slowly down the long flight of steps, grasping on to the gold plated railing, his long hair tied back in a messy ponytail. "Yes, honey?" he said.

"Syusuke, this one wants you to take him to the park," she, his wife, Sayaka said, gesturing towards the younger of the two twins. One of the twins was a boy, and the one wailing in Sayaka's arms was a girl. They were both two years old.

Sayaka had long, black, wavy hair, and she was very beautiful. Everyone back in Junior High School liked her, but she wasn't the nicest person in the world.

"Sayaka, how many times must I tell you, he has a name," Fuji said.

"Fine, _Keita _would like you to take him to the park," Sayaka said and rolled her eyes. She flipped her hair and walked off with the other twin, Keina. Fuji smiled apologetically down at the boy's wide blue eyes. He looked like an exact replica of Fuji, with beautiful, sparkling blue eyes and shiny brown hair.

"Let's go, Keita," Fuji said, and took the younger twin's hand. He grasped his father's hand firmly and walked out the front door.

With all the implications, you probably already guessed that Fuji was rich. His parents had married him to a friend of his ever since he had transferred to Seigaku. Her father owned a large industry, and of course, she was also rich. But Fuji didn't really like the girl, since she was slightly pushy, and a load of other things Fuji dare not describe. She was pretty, though. Fuji had just acted kind to her, since he was kind to everyone, but she had hung around him more than other girls had, and their parents knew each other.

They entered the park gates and Fuji sat on a bench while the little one climbed a tree in Fuji's plain sight. He sighed. Of course he wasn't happy with this, but what was he to do? If he divorced her, he would lose the twins and his money, but he didn't really like her. Fuji closed his eyes and sighed.

Suddenly, he heard a scream. His eyes snapped open and he saw his son, still safely sitting on a branch of the tree, with eyes as wide as saucers. Fuji couldn't tell what he was so scared about—and then he saw it.

In front of the tree was a bright white light. Some of the other kids looked over at his son, but dismissed him and turned back to what they were doing. It was almost like they couldn't see the flash of light. But before Fuji could think any more, it spoke.

"Fuji Syusuke, would you like to go back?" the voice said. It was a voice of a woman, soothing and calm, not at all like his wife's voice.

"Go back to where?" Fuji asked. He knew that it was strange of him to be talking to a bright glow of light, but he was just too curious.

"Go back and mend your mistakes," 'she' replied simply.

"Mend…my mistakes?" Fuji said.

"Would you like to go back to when you were twelve years old?" she asked again, wording it differently this time.

Fuji understood her, but he couldn't believe it. He knew he shouldn't, since he had twins and another child to take care of, and he also had a wife, and speaking of which, a _life_, but he still found himself nodding his head slowly. The wind picked him up and swirled him into a black abyss. He took one last look and his son, and then all was dark.

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2005—Fuji Syusuke is 12 years old

Fuji moaned and opened his eyes. He was in his room. His room from when he had just moved to Tokyo. He sat up. What had he just been doing? Oh yeah, he remembered. After all, how could one forget all of the things that had happened to him? He looked at the calendar, and it read 'August 15'. He remembered that day, or maybe he should call it 'today', clearly in his mind, also. 'Today' was the day that he had chosen which of the Kantou area schools to attend. Why had he been sent back to this day?

Fuji got out of bed just as his older sister walked into his room. "Oh, you're up early today," she said. Suddenly, her eyes started to sparkle. "Ooh, I know why. It's because you're excited about choosing your school."

Fuji nodded and smiled at his sister. "Ah, okay then. We'll get it started right now. Mother has a list of the schools to choose from. Come." She led Fuji into the kitchen, where there was a list of schools plastered to the table. "Here are the schools. You like tennis, right?" she asked.

"Of course, Yumiko, you don't have to ask that," Fuji said, smiling, trying to think of what he was like back then.

"Ahaha, yeah, you're right," Yumiko said and chuckled. "But the schools with remarkable tennis teams are Seishun Gakuen, Hyotei Gakuen, Rokkaku Chuu, of course, and the winner of the National tournament, Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku."

Of course, Fuji already knew all of these schools. He opened his mouth to say Seishun Gakuen immediately, but then paused. The white light had said something about 'mending his mistakes'. Was his mistake marrying that lady? He couldn't have done anything about it. As soon as his parents found out that they were both going to Seishun, they immediately—wait, Fuji thought. They were both going to Seishun. This was his chance to change that. If he didn't attend Seigaku, then maybe he would have a chance of living a happier life in the future. But his kids, Fuji thought. He shook his head. He had already come back to the past, and it was time to mend his mistakes.

He considered the other schools for a long while. Hyotei was the first one that Yumiko had said besides Seigaku. Yes, they were a wealthy school, and they did have a very good tennis team, but the people there were…how should he put it…snobbish? He didn't want to go to Rokkaku, or else moving from Chiba to Tokyo would've been a waste for his family. The only one left was Rikkaidai. Fuji smiled at the thought. Yes, they were the one school that Fuji might feel comfortable in. Their members were nice, with the exception of some, and their tennis team was definitely one to be awed at. They were the ones.

So Fuji yet again opened his mouth and said, "Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku," slowly. There was no changing his decision now.

---------------------------------------

Yukimura Seiichi sighed contently. It was finally the first day of Junior High School for him, and it was the day that he could show the tennis team what he was made of.

He stared at the board, smiling. There were no others in the room, since he had come quite early—a full thirty minutes. He suspected that there would be no others for at least fifteen of those minutes. But as if on cue, the door creaked open just then. Yukimura looked up and saw another smiling face quite like his. The boy had brown hair that fell beneath his chin, much like Yukimura's own (the falling beneath the chin part), and he was slightly shorter than the blue haired future captain.

"Hello," the boy said in a melodic, feminine voice.

"Hi," Yukimura replied with his own. It was almost like a contest to see who had the smoothest voice or the most femininity.

"I'm Fuji Syusuke," he said.

"Ah, Fuji Syusuke, it's a pleasure to meet you," Yukimura replied. He smiled. "I'm Yukimura Seiichi."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, also," Fuji said politely. He took the seat next to Yukimura's. This boy is interesting, Yukimura thought. His smile grew wider.

* * *

Did you like the first chapter? It's kind of like a prologue, but not really. I think, out of all the characters, besides Fuji, I feel the most comfortable writing Yukimura. Because he's a lot like Fuji! xD;; With the Keita and Keina thing, I had to go to a website to look up Japanese names, and in the boy's column, there was Keita. Which is an awesome name (w-inds forever! Keita Tachibana!), and on the girls side, there was Keina. Which was even better. xD;;

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

Thank you, my fellow reviewers. D If you read, please review, too. It helps, trust me. :D I hope this story will get more hits with more updates. I just thought of a new story, and it will be featuring Ryoma and Fuji, and Tezuka and Fuji. The two most popular Fuji pairings! I think that one will get a lot of reviews. xD;; But for the time being (since it might be a while before I finish that), you should probably read and review this! And to reviewers, thanks again! I make sure I take the time to reply to every review.

**Chapter 2:**

Fuji wandered throughout the school halls aimlessly. Actually, it was his lunch break right now, and he had already finished his lunch. He was just walking around the school, comparing it to Seigaku. It was very similar, actually, and he already knew where his next class was. The halls were quiet, since most people were in the cafeteria for lunch, or they were in classes.

Fuji spotted someone walking down the hall, heading right for him. The person had blue wavy hair, and Fuji recognized him immediately. He walked faster, and smiled when he got to his target. "Ah, strange seeing you here, Yukimura," Fuji said. He smiled.

"Likewise, Fuji," Yukimura replied. "What class are you going to next?"

Fuji unknowingly turned around and walked with Yukimura. "I'm going to Art, you?"

"Ah, same," Yukimura answered.

"If that's the case," Fuji said, "then you're in every one of my classes."

"Coincidence, neh?" Yukimura smiled.

"Yeah."

They walked down the halls in silence. They stopped at the art room right when the bell rang. A ton of kids ran out of the room, heading to their lunch, probably. "Perfect timing," Yukimura said. Fuji nodded in agreement. They walked into the empty room and sat down at the same table. Yukimura pulled out a chair for both Fuji and himself. Fuji sat down and steadied himself by placing his hand on the back of the chair. His hand brushed against the slightly younger but taller boy (Yukimura's birthday is March 5, and Fuji's is February 29). Fuji looked down and let his hair fall over his face to conceal his blush. Luckily for him, the future captain was turned the other way.

What was he thinking? Fuji shook his head. Why would he fall for Yukimura? Yeah, he was pretty, and nice, and very much like Fuji himself. But when he went to Seishun, he was head over heals for Tezuka Kunimitsu, the _stoic, silent, never-smiling_ captain. Completely opposite of Yukimura.

Yukimura felt Fuji's hand touch his. His skin is soft, the blue haired boy thought. And he's oh-so pretty. And cute. Yukimura saw Fuji blush and smiled before turning away. This boy may be even more interesting than he had originally thought. He would be perfect, Yukimura thought, if he played…

------------------------------

Fuji whacked the ball as hard as he could and sent it sailing over the net into the opposite court and straight past his third year opponent. "Wow, you're pretty good, Fuji," Yukimura said. "Would you like to join the regulars?"

"What gives you the right to ask that?" another third year boy said, walking up from behind Yukimura. "You're just a tiny first year, and you're not even on the regulars."

Yukimura smiled and turned. "Ah, but you just wait." He grabbed his racquet. "Would you like to play a match?"

------------------------------

"G-Game and match to Yukimura Seiichi, six games to two!" the referee shouted. The crowd was too stunned to cheer. Fuji was the one to begin clapping, and another first year beside him joined in. Yet another first year began to clap, and soon, all the first and second years were clapping for the young, pretty boy. The third years were glaring and the defeated boy, and were saying something about, "Putting the third years to shame".

"What's all the commotion?" someone asked, walking up to the courts.

The third year that was just beaten by Yukimura turned. "Ah, captain!" he said.

He was about to say something, but then Fuji spoke up. "Yukimura just beat him in a match!" he said with a false excitement.

The captain looked skeptically at the feminine looking brunette, and then turned to look at Yukimura. "Is this boy," he gestured at Fuji, "telling the truth?"

The first and second years who had witnessed it, nodded. Even some who hadn't been there nodded, too, since they wanted to see a first year on the regulars.

The captain sighed. "Oh, what to do with you?" he asked, looking at the third year who was beaten. "Here I have a regular who was beaten by a non-regular first year!" He then smiled kindly. "I'll take my chances. Yukimura, welcome to the regulars."

All the first and second years on the court cheered loudly. Yukimura whispered something to the captain, which made him turn to look at Fuji. "Fuji, too?" he said Yukimura nodded. "Fuji, would you like to join, too?" he asked the brunette. And Fuji found that he couldn't say no.

"Okay everyone, back to work!" the captain ordered. "You two," he pointed and the two third years who had been beaten by Fuji and Yukimura. "Off the courts, now. Please return your uniforms."

"What's this?" Fuji asked. "Why do they have to leave?"

"Rikkaidai has a strict policy that if you're a third year and you're not a regular or a substitute, you can't play. Third years that have been beaten are allowed to return to the courts and challenge a regular anytime they like, but if they are beaten by the same person three times, they aren't allowed to return to the courts anymore."

"Oh, I see," Fuji said. "Where did you learn all this? We came to the courts together, and I was watching you the entire time."

Yukimura's smile was wiped off for a fraction of a second, but it then returned. "It's a secret."

Fuji frowned, but to Yukimura, it looked kind of like a pout. He could resist pinching Fuji's left cheek. "You're so cute!" he said and laughed. Fuji started to laugh, too.

"Yukimura! Fuji! If you want to be regulars, you have to practice with them!" the captain shouted.

"Yeah, okay!" the two boys said at the same time, laughing and walking to the regular's court.

------------------------------

After about a month of schooling at Rikkaidai, Fuji was beginning to think of it as home. Yukimura was the nicest person he had ever met, and they were having a lot of fun in the tennis tournaments and things like that. To Fuji, it was a whole new experience to go to Rikkaidai, and it was a good experience, too. Fuji almost liked it more than he had liked Seigaku.

One Saturday morning, he woke up to a flash of bright light. Not again, he thought. The whole room went white. It wasn't a color white, though, even if it had seemed like it was. To Fuji, it just felt like he was sitting in nothingness. Fuji heard the woman's voice again. "Would you like to return?" she asked this time.

"Return to where?" Fuji asked back.

"Either return to the future, with all of your past changes applied, or return to the future you were living before you came here," she replied.

"I would not like to return to either," Fuji said, and the room became normal again, and not even a minute had passed. Everything was back to normal. "That was strange," Fuji said aloud.

"What was strange?" Yumiko asked, walking into his room.

"Nothing." Fuji shook his head and his older sister shrugged. "Oh, that's right." Fuji got up.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" his sister asked.

"I'm going out," he said.

"With whom?"

"Yukimura," Fuji replied.

"Oh, is it a date?"

Fuji blushed. "Of course not. We're just going out as friends." He grabbed his clothes and walked out of his room to the bathroom. His sister just sighed and smiled. Make things right this time, Syusuke. Don't mess up.

------------------------------

Fuji walked out of the door into the crisp autumn air. The streets were busy with early morning shoppers, and the sun was just rising over the horizon. The shadows were long and sharply defined, much like shadows in the morning or evening. Fuji couldn't get what his sister had said out of his head, though. _Oh, is it a date?_ Fuji shook his head. Of course it wasn't a date. He had said the right thing. They were going out as friends. But was Yukimura more than a friend to him?

"Fuji!" Yukimura called.

Fuji looked behind him. He had walked a couple of meters past their meeting spot. "Oh, sorry, Yukimura. I was just spacing out."

"That's not like you, Fuji," Yukimura said.

Fuji opened his eyes and replied with a mysterious, "Nothing's normal these days."

"Fuji?" But Fuji had already plastered his usual smile on his face.

"Shall we go eat breakfast?" he said cheerfully. Yukimura shrugged and followed the smaller boy.

As they stepped into a small café across the street from a jovial looking flower shop (1), Yukimura said to Fuji quietly, "You know, you can tell me anything. I'll be right there for you."

Fuji stopped for a moment, and continued to walk on, with his face to the floor. The pair sat down at a table and ordered some soda. Fuji continued to look down at the polished wood. Yukimura did the only sensible thing, in his mind. He reached his hand over and tilted Fuji's chin up so that Fuji was looking into Yukimura's icy blue orbs.

"You can tell me anything," he repeated.

Fuji stared at Yukimura for a long while with wide open eyes. "I—there have just been so many things going on lately. I don't even know where to start."

Yukimura smiled, triumphant at finally coaxing the brunette to talk. "Start with the most important one."

Fuji's eyes were once again downcast, though his face was parallel to Yukimura's. There was a silence as the waitress came and set the drinks on their table.

"I'll tell you, but I don't think you'll believe me," Fuji admitted.

Yukimura removed his hand from Fuji's chin. He moved the hand to cover the smaller boy's hand on the table. He smirked. "Try me."

"The past, the present, the future, it's all a blur to me now. I can't tell what's what anymore," Fuji said. He was sure that Yukimura would look at him strangely, but the taller boy kept a straight face.

Finally, after another bit of silence, Yukimura murmured, "You're a 'Returner', aren't you?"

Fuji blinked. "What's a 'Returner'?" he asked.

"Simple," Yukimura said. "One who returns. To the past, of course. Every now and then, some people in the world, who are visibly truly unhappy are given the chance to go back to the past and change everything. You're one of them, aren't you?" Yukimura explained.

"…Yes," Fuji replied. "But how do you know about all this?"

"Another straightforward question," Yukimura answered. "_I'm one, too._"

"What?!" Fuji almost shouted. But then, he remembered that he was in a café. "But…how…?"

"I was truly unhappy. With my future life. And I was given the chance to go back and change it all."

"But—but you still go to Rikkaidai, and everything about you is the same," Fuji said.

"What are you talking about?" Yukimura asked. "In my previous…'life', I guess, I didn't even play tennis!"

"Huh? But I knew you! Our schools played each other in the National Tournament! You were the best junior tennis player in all of Japan! I went to Seishun Gakuen! We beat your team in the Kantou Tournament, but you weren't there, since you were undergoing a major surgery!"

Yukimura looked shocked. "Surgery?! For what?!"

"You were diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, and you had to have a surgery!" Fuji said. "I don't really know the details, but I know that your surgery was a success. Then our schools played each other in the Nationals, but after that, I didn't even hear of you."

"That's kind of strange," Yukimura said. "I also vaguely remember you from the past life, but I was living in Kansai, in a boarding school. You attended my school, and we were in a lot of classes together. You were best friends with this guy named Tezuka Kunimitsu, and I was always jealous of him because I always wanted to be your friend…"

"You did?" Fuji asked, shocked.

Yukimura smiled and squeezed Fuji's hand. "Yeah, I did. And now that I am, I think it's kind of a dream come true."

Fuji smiled back at him. "We have to get this thing figured out, though."

"Yeah, it's really strange." The two boys left the money on the table and ran out of the café, hand in hand, to the library.

* * *

(1): Hey, another reference to that cafe in 'A Liking to Flowers'. D

So this chapter basically started explaining the plot of the story. Like? Don't? Please review. )


	3. Chapter 3

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

'Kay, so this chapter and the next chapter has a lot of fluff. Everyone loves fluff, right? Or not right? Well, at least it was fun to write. xD;; Aren't Seiichi and Syusuke so cute?! D But anyway, I'm still writing my TezuFuji and RyoFuji story. My friend helped me think of a title. It's to be called 'A Kiss to Remember'. I'm not going to give any of it away, though. But I hope you guys look for that on the fanfiction shelves soon! Once I finish! xD;; But for now, just read, review, and enjoy this, okay?

**Chapter 3:**

"The library is the best place to find out about this kind of stuff," Yukimura said, walking into the quiet library. There weren't that many people there, since the library wasn't that big, and they didn't hold many events. The actual library itself wasn't big, but there were very many books.

"Why? It's not like anyone knows about it, right?" Fuji asked.

"Hmm…we'll see about that." Yukimura led Fuji to the service desk and smiled kindly at the lady working there. "Do you know where we could find something about 'Returners'?"

"Are you two doing a project or something?" she asked, smiling back sweetly.

The two boys looked at each other. "Something like that," Yukimura said.

"Alright then, right this way."

---------------------------------

"Ah, found it," Yukimura said. They were sitting at a table in a small, quiet corner of the library, with plenty of books around them. "'Some say 'Returners' are real, and some say they are merely a myth,'" he quoted. "'But I know that they are real.'" He read the page briefly. "Here's a breakdown about what it says. We already know that 'Returners' are people who return to the past and mend their mistakes. They are given a choice every day to return to the future if they want to.

"The leader of the 'Returners' is 'True Light', the bright flash of light that you always see. She was the one who first created the forbidden art of time travel a long time ago. To pay for her resurrection of the forbidden art, she was stripped of her human form and turned into a spirit to wander the earth. But she still had the forbidden art in her arsenal, and instead of doing nothing, she decided to wander the earth sending truly unhappy people back to their pasts.

"It is said now that 'True Light' has found a way to get her form back recently and is roaming the earth as a beautiful black haired woman, still sending people back. When she performs her magic, though, she turns back into her true, spirit form."

"That's great and all, but is there anything in there about what we're trying to figure out?" Fuji asked.

"I'm still looking for that…oh, here it is." Yukimura pointed to a spot on the page. "Returners are never supposed meet each other. To ensure this, 'True Light' made it so that every person in the world existed on every single time plane, with the same personalities and appearance. Every Returner is supposed to exist on their own time plane, therefore never meeting any other Returner. They might meet a person who is a duplicate of the Returner, but they will never meet the Returner themselves.

"But lately, after regaining her human form, 'True Light' has gotten sloppy with her work and it is said that three Returners have been sent to the wrong time plane and one has met one of the other Returners. 'True Light' realized her mistake but could not do anything about it, so the three Returners are still in the same world," Yukimura finished.

Fuji looked at the future captain, who looked back at him. "Could that be…"

"Yeah, that's us," Yukimura said. "I'm one of the two who were sent back to the wrong time plane, and I was sent to yours."

"But how was that book updated so quickly? We only just met each other a month ago," Fuji commented.

Yukimura looked inside the front cover and after the title page for a publish or copyright date, but there was none. There was nothing, except for text in the book that looked like it was handwritten in neat script. "Maybe it's a magical book. I mean, we did travel to the past. That's definitely magic." He thought for a moment again. "Or maybe it's a book that True Light writes in and adds to every time something important happens regarding Returners. There's no author, right? And if it were her book, I don't think she could just put down 'True Light' as the author."

"So, it's almost like True Light's…diary?"

"I guess so."

"I think that…" Fuji said slowly, "I don't think that book is right, in a little section. I'm sure that True Light could fix this dilemma any time she wanted to, but I think that she just wanted to see how it would play out."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Yukimura said. "But there's nothing we can do about it, right?"

"Yeah. 'True Light' is almost like a god…she has control of all the Returners, who have control of a lot of things that happen on their own time plane, they just don't know it."

"A beautiful woman with black hair…" Yukimura mumbled.

"What?" Fuji said, but Yukimura continued to read on in the book.

"It says here that 'True Light' lives on in her human form in all the dimensions at once, which isn't a truly difficult feat, since there are only a handful of Returners. There used to be many more Returners, but once 'True Light' returned to her human form, the numbers have decreased drastically. Apparently, when she lives as her human form, she always lives as someone close to the Returner, or the person who probably will be a Returner in the future, to observe their behavior, and when the time is right, she will send them back."

"So she's always someone close to you…but I don't know _any_ women or girls with black hair that are close to me," Fuji said.

"Ah, maybe not when you traveled back, but you might've known someone in the past," Yukimura said, which sent Fuji into a thoughtful silence. "No one knows what happens to 'True Light' when the Returner on that time plane lives on until the age they were when they returned, or when they return to the future again. But people say that when they return, some lady close to them always dies, and their descriptions of the appearances of these women are always the same—long black wavy hair, and very beautiful. But their personalities are totally different."

"So either it's a coincidence, or 'True Light' is a really good actress," Fuji said.

Yukimura laughed. "I'm going to have to go with the second one. There is no way that something like that could happen to every Returner."

"Yeah, that's true." Yukimura smiled. "Saa, Fuji, do you have anyone close to you that has long black wavy hair?"

Fuji shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"That's interesting," Yukimura said.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you."

Yukimura thought for a moment. "Well, there is one person…"

---------------------------------

Fuji stepped into the future captain's house. The inside was clean and nicely decorated, but not too busy. It was quiet. The carpets were a nice, rich color for every room that it fit, and more subdued hues for more neutral rooms, like the living room. And rooms like the kitchen and foyer had hardwood floors that were gleaming. There was a library in the corner where books filled the shelves and there were more books stacked on the desk and next to the shelves.

"Sister, are you home?" Yukimura called into the seemingly empty house. A moment later, small feet came bouncing down the stairs.

"Seiichi!" a young lady's voice shouted. Then, Fuji saw the sister come through the hallway. She definitely had long, black, wavy hair that seemed to glitter with every step she took. She was just wearing casual clothes for the weekend, and she had a pair of headphones around her neck and a bracelet on each wrist. Her appearance reminded Fuji of someone, but he couldn't remember who. She ran to her younger brother and hugged him.

"Sis, you don't have to choke me," Yukimura said, laughing. When he was released from his death hold, he turned to Fuji and said, "Fuji, meet my sister, Naruko. She's sixteen years old."

Fuji turned to Naruko and smiled at her. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," she said politely back and smiled. She leaned over and whispered something to Yukimura, who smiled and nodded. Fuji gave him a confused look. She smirked and said something quietly that sounded like, "Prove it."

Yukimura then took a couple steps over to Fuji and picked him up. "Wh—what are you doing?!" he almost shouted with a shocked look on his face. Yukimura hugged the smaller boy close.

"See? He's my best friend in the whole world!" Yukimura said. Fuji had no choice but to hug Yukimura back, not that he wouldn't have wanted to.

His sister laughed. "Okay, I think I get the picture." Yukimura put Fuji down gently and smiled at him.

When they were in the taller boy's room, Yukimura said, "Sorry about that. Whenever I get a new friend that she hasn't met, she makes me prove that the person is actually my friend."

"I can tell," Fuji said, shifting on the bed.

"Did I make you uncomfortable?" Yukimura asked, leaning over towards Fuji, with a concerned look.

Fuji hugged his knees to his chest. "Of course not," he said, smiling at Yukimura, who didn't quite believe the smile. "Saa, Yukimura, do you think you're going to return?"

Yukimura looked at him. "Of course not! I'm never going to return, now that I've met you. How about you?"

Fuji smiled wryly. "I've thought about it," was all he said.

"Don't ever return," Yukimura said. Of course, you're the only one that I have to talk about the returning thing. I know there's another Returner in this world somewhere, but she or he could be anywhere." Yukimura smiled. "Plus, you're the best friend I've ever had. If you return, I don't know what I'd do."

Fuji smiled back. "I have something I need to tell you," he said.

"You can tell me anything," the blue haired boy replied.

Fuji then leaned over and kissed Yukimura on the lips. Yukimura was too shocked to respond at first, but by the time he got over it, Fuji had already pulled away. Fuji smiled sadly and looked down. "Actions speak louder than words, neh?" He hopped off the bed delicately and walked out of the room quickly. He ran down the stairs and opened the front door.

"I hope to see you again, Fuji," Naruko said while Fuji was exiting, but Fuji just walked out of the door and closed it after him. "I wonder what's gotten into him," she said to herself. "Did something happen?"

---------------------------------

Yukimura touched a finger to his lips. The other boy's lips had been so soft. He hadn't expected that he would rather have Fuji than any girl. He hadn't expected to like—no, love the other boy that much. Fuji had taken his chances and made the first move, but Yukimura had been too surprised to respond. He had been too speechless to even call after Fuji, and now he had ruined it all.

Yukimura fell back down onto the bed and covered his face with his hands. "What have I done?" he said to himself. "I haven't been mending my mistakes at all. I just messed everything up again." This was an even bigger mistake, though, since Fuji had the choice to return to the future first thing the next day. Fuji would then return, leaving Yukimura, and also inevitably losing someone dear to him.

He heard the door open softly, and hoped, for the slight chance there was that it might be Fuji, but when he looked up, it was his sister. She peeked into his room. "Seiichi," she said quietly, "did something happen?"

"How did you know?" Yukimura replied, even more quietly than his sister.

"I—I could just tell," she said. She came over and sat down on the bed. "You like him, don't you?"

"Yeah," Yukimura said without hesitation.

She sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I don't blame you. He's very cute."

"I messed it all up," Yukimura said.

She leaned down and stroked his hair. "You still have a chance."

"I don't. I don't have time," Yukimura said, but didn't go into specifics.

"Yes, you do." She walked out of the room and appeared again moments later cradling a bouquet of flowers in her arms. "Take these flowers to him and tell him how you feel. I'm sure he'll understand."

Yukimura got up. "I guess it's worth a try." He jumped off the bed and took the flowers. "Thanks, sis."

"No problem," she said. "Remember, actions speak louder than words."

Yukimura nodded and walked out of the room resolutely.

She smiled after her younger brother had left. "It's definitely worth a try, my dear younger brother, Seiichi…Returner." She turned to the window. "Once you lose me, and once he loses his dear Seishun friend, you'll have to support each other."

---------------------------------

Fuji ran all the way back to his own house and stumbled through the front door. He slammed it behind him and ran to his room without stopping at all. He fell back onto his bed and started crying at once. "What have I done?" He turned so that he was lying on his side. "I shouldn't have kissed him. I was way too direct. And now I've ruined it, and any chance of friendship." He covered his face with his hands and didn't bother to wipe up the tears as they fell onto the comforter. "Maybe I should just return. No chance of friendship…what's the harm if I return now? He probable hates me, anyway."

His door opened slightly. "Syusuke?" His sister, Yumiko, said quietly. "Syusuke, what's wrong?"

"It's all my fault," Fuji said.

"What happened at your friend's house?" she asked. "You can tell me anything, Syusuke."

So Fuji told his sister the entire story, from the café to when he ran out of the house. He omitted the part about researching about the Returners, he just said it was research for a school project.

"Syusuke, you must like him a lot," Yumiko said. "I haven't seen you like this since Kojiroh ran away from his house and we couldn't find him for two days."

Fuji continued to cry into his bed. Yumiko finally got up and left, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Cliffy...kind of. More fluff in the next chapter. I'm sorry to make you guys wait! ;-; I feel bad about it. But review anyway! Those make me want to update faster...and who knows? Maybe I will. D 


	4. Chapter 4

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

'Kay, I know you're all waiting for this chapter. :-D The last chapter had a lot of information in it, I know. You can read it over, if you don't quite get ti at first. And if you don't, that's okay, too, because I will keep referring back to it, and if you read about it enough, I'm sure you'll catch on. This chapter has a bit of info, too, and some of it is repeated (in shorter form), and some of it is new information. Again, keep reading, and you'll understand it more. But anyway, please read, review, and enjoy!

PS: If you're wondering why I'm not using honorifics or anything, it's because I pretty much know NOTHING about Japanese culture, and I don't want to mess it up. You may have noticed that I'm trying not to use Japanese at all in any of my fanfictions, besides names and stuff. And if I do refer to Japanese culture, I will always tell you at the beginning of the chapter that I may have messed something up. Thanks for bearing with me:-D

**Chapter 4:**

Fuji Yumiko walked quietly down the hallway. Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. "Who could that be?" she asked herself aloud. She walked down the stairs and opened to door to a feminine looking boy, about the same age as Syusuke, but taller. He had blue wavy hair and gentle features. His eyes were an icy indigo color, and he had a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"I need to speak to Fuji Syusuke, please," he said.

Yumiko smiled. This must be the boy that Syusuke was so depressed over earlier. She looked down at him briefly. He looked like someone her little brother would definitely trust. She remembered that in her past life, because she was a Returner, her younger brother had fallen in love with that stoic, cold, never smiling brick wall named Tezuka Kunimitsu. This boy was completely different. He was polite, kind, and looked like the person that smiled a lot, much like Syusuke himself. She wondered what had made Syusuke choose him instead.

"Ah, Syusuke's in his room; let me go get him for you," she said. She ran up the stairs and opened her younger brother's door again. "Syusuke?"

"What?" Fuji said exasperatedly. He didn't have anything more in him to cry out and had just resorted to staring at the patterns on the ceiling.

Yumiko looked at him and seemed to be reprimanding him with her eyes. "There's someone at the door for you, and I think you should definitely see him."

Fuji got up and sighed. When his sister told him to do something, there was no refusing it. He didn't bother to wipe or wash his face. Let whoever it is see him. He didn't really care.

He walked down the stairs slowly and turned the hall way corner to come face to face with Yukimura at the door with a bouquet of flowers. "These are for you," Yukimura said, thrusting the flowers into Fuji's arms. Fuji was too surprised to say anything, and Yukimura took that moment and grabbed Fuji's wrist before he could run away. "We need to talk." Fuji had no choice but to follow Yukimura as he dragged the smaller boy into the side yard.

Yukimura walked into the side yard and closed the gate behind them. He leaned his back on it so that Fuji couldn't leave. He wasn't worried about the door to the house, because if Fuji tried to go inside, his sister would probably force him back outside, anyway.

Fuji walked to the picnic table in his side yard where there was a vase. He set the flowers down on the table, and took the hose and began to fill the vase with water. Fuji heard Yukimura say something, but for the first time, he wasn't really listening to the future captain. There was silence, and Fuji went to turn off the hose.

The water was turned off and when Fuji returned to the table, he felt Yukimura grab his wrist and turn Fuji toward him. "Fuji, _listen to me_." Fuji just stared up into Yukimura's eyes blankly. Then, he looked down.

He heard the taller boy sigh, and then he felt a hand on his back, and he was being pulled close to Yukimura. And then, he felt lips on his own. Fuji eyes blinked open, and he saw that Yukimura was kissing him gently but longingly. Fuji fingers were now intertwined with the blue haired boy's, and his hand was still on the small of Fuji's back.

After a long while, Yukimura pulled away. He gazed down at Fuji, who was in turn staring back up at him. "Fuji, I love you."

Fuji wrapped his arms around Yukimura's neck and hugged himself to the taller boy. He began to cry again. "Then why did you—"

"I was too surprised," Yukimura said into Fuji's ear. "Too surprised to do anything." His arms found their way around Fuji's waist. He pulled the smaller boy even closer, if that was possible. Fuji was still crying on his shoulder. They fit so well together, Yukimura almost couldn't believe it. It was as if they had known each other since the beginning of time. It was almost as if it was destiny.

"I love you, too, Seiichi," Fuji said. "I love you so much." He leaned his head back to look into Yukimura's eyes. "See these?" he said, wiping tears off his cheeks. "They're tears of joy."

"Syusuke…" Yukimura said and leaned down to kiss Fuji again.

----------------------------------

Yumiko stood at the kitchen counter and pretended to be cooking something. But she was really staring intently out the window above the counter at her brother and his 'friend'. The friend had said something, but Syusuke looked like he didn't hear it. That's strange, she thought. Something really must've happened. She put down her plate and focused all her attention on the couple.

The friend moved toward Syusuke and grabbed his wrist. They were now facing each other. They stared at each other, and finally, Syusuke's friend pulled Syusuke into a kiss. Yumiko jumped and smiled. When the friend pulled away, he said something and Syusuke began to cry.

Yumiko almost laughed. Not at her brother's misery or happiness, but she laughed because they both seemed to mature. They both seemed way too mature for their age. She knew that her brother was a Returner, but she didn't know about the other boy. He acted just as old as Syusuke, who acted like he was well into his twenties. She could tell that Syusuke was trying to act his age in front of her and his friends, but when he was around this boy, he acted like he wanted to act.

Yumiko knew Syusuke wouldn't trust anyone with this secret unless the other had the secret as well. She knew this because she wouldn't, either. She smiled. Perhaps, she thought, her brother had changed. Or maybe this boy was also a Returner. Which brought an even wider smile to her face. Ever since Syusuke had returned on that day when he was choosing schools, he had been acting slightly insecure. If they both shared the secret, then maybe this boy would provide a solid shoulder for Syusuke to lean on. Which was exactly what he was doing now.

"Have you already found the other two Returners?" a voice broke Yumiko's train of thought. She whipped around and found herself face to face with a beautiful young lady, about fifteen years old, with headphones encircling her neck.

"And who are you?" Yumiko asked. She knew better than to ask how the person got in the house, if she knew about Returners.

"Relax. My human name is Naruko, at least for this dimension, but my real name is True Light," the girl said to Yumiko. "In this dimension, I'm Seiichi's sister. Oh yeah, in case you were wondering, Seiichi is your brother's boyfriend."

Fuji's sister still had her guard on, though. "I know that already. But why would you want to know about the Returners?"

"Because I am the god of the Returners," Naruko said simply. Yumiko looked at her skeptically. "I'm telling the truth."

"Why are you asking me if I've already met the other two Returners, then?" Yumiko asked.

"I was just wondering. How interesting, three Returners in the same dimension, living in the same city, and they're currently all in the same property."

"Why is that strange?"

"Because Returners aren't supposed to exist in the same dimension for one." Naruko waved her hand slightly. "If you're really interested, go ask your brother. He did a ton of research on it this morning with Seiichi."

"Oh, so that's why they were out this morning," Yumiko said thoughtfully.

Naruko sighed. "I had a job for you, but you have to know a lot about Returners to do it. Your brother would be perfect for it."

"Well then, why don't you just ask him to do it? Or ask your own brother?"

"Because first of all, they have to be a legal adult Returner already, and second of all, it has to be a woman," Naruko answered. "So go tell the other two about you being a Returner and whatnot, and learn about Returners, and then come talk to me again tomorrow." With that, the black haired girl disappeared in a wisp of white smoke.

"Wait! Where can I find you?" Yumiko asked.

"I'll be all around. I'll go talk to you first. Just remember this: At all costs, DO NOT tell them who I am!" Naruko said. "Now silence! They're coming."

Yumiko turned around just in time to see Yukimura and Fuji walk in the back door, hand in hand. She dusted off her skirt and smiled at them. "Did you two make up?"

Fuji grinned. "Yeah, we did."

"Sit down, have a snack. Here, I cut up some strawberries for you two." Yumiko set a plate of strawberries on the table, which Yukimura and Fuji ate gratefully. Yumiko sat down at the table next to her brother. "I have a question for you two."

"Go ahead," Fuji said.

"Who's 'True Light'?"

Fuji's strawberry almost dropped out of his hand. Both of the boys froze and looked at each other. Yumiko laughed. "Relax, boys, I'm a Returner, too."

The two younger boys breathed out a sigh of relief. "Well, in that case," Fuji said, "True Light is the god, or goddess of Returners. For every Returner there is, there is one of her. And also for every Returner, there is a separate dimension. So there are as many dimensions and True Lights as there are Returners."

"True Light," Yukimura said, "always appears as a beautiful lady with long, black, wavy hair, and always appears as someone close to the Returner."

"But it is said that True Light made a mistake recently," Fuji said. "We know for a fact that she put more than one Returner in a dimension, but we don't know if she did it on accident or for an unknown purpose."

"What purpose would that be?" Yumiko asked.

Yukimura and Fuji looked at each other again. "We don't know. We just don't think that True Light would make that kind of mistake."

----------------------------------

The next day, Yumiko was sitting at home, reading her magazine, when her cell phone rang. She turned to the phone, and looked at the screen. "Tamao? What could she want now?" Yumiko said. Tamao was her best friend, and had been her best friend since kindergarten. When they were in Junior High School and High School, they were the two most beautiful girls in the school, and everyone wanted to go out with them.

Tamao was everything Yumiko wasn't, and visa versa. Tamao had midnight black hair and a pale complexion, when Yumiko was rosier and had golden brown hair. They were almost completely opposite, and yet they were still best friends. The only thing similar about them was that they both had wavy hair, though Tamao's was longer and Yumiko's was shorter.

Yumiko picked up the phone. "Hello?" she said.

"Yumiko?" Tamao's voice replied. "This is Tamao."

"I know that. Caller ID _exists_, you know. Especially on cell phones."

"Yeah, whatever," Tamao said. Yumiko could almost see her wave her hand. "I'm just going to cut to the chase. You know how I said I'd come talk to you today?"

"No…" Yumiko said uncertainly.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know. Well, since you haven't figured it out, I'm True Light. Naruko and I are the same person."

Yumiko blinked. "Oh."

"So, do you know about how returning and stuff works now?" Tamao asked.

"Yeah," Yumiko said. "I asked my brother and his friend…or your brother…or…whatever."

"That's good. So the task I need you to do is to get both boys to return to the future."

"What?! Why? They're both enjoying being here so much!" Yumiko nearly shouted.

"I'm not trying to ruin anything here, but you know about the dilemma with there being three Returners in one dimension? Well, despite what they may have told you, I can't fix it unless you all return to the future."

"I'm not going to do it!" Yumiko said. "I'm not that cold-hearted. It doesn't matter if there are three Returners in one world, does it?"

Tamao sighed. "Yes, it does, actually. Very much so. If it didn't, I wouldn't be trying to split them apart either. But if there is more than one Returner in one dimension for more than three years, the dimension will go amok, trying to keep up with the time traveling, and will most likely be destroyed in one way or another," she explained. "And we don't want that to happen, do we?"

Yumiko sighed. "Isn't there another way?"

"No. After you all return, this world will be 'discarded' and forgotten about. It was just a failure world on my part."

Defeated, Yumiko finally agreed. But inside, she resolutely told herself to find another way. For both boys' sake. No matter how powerful or all knowing True Light was, she wouldn't be able to see inside of a person, because no one can do that. And inside, Yumiko was defying her with all of her will. "But why did you need me to do it?"

"Because you're the oldest and most responsible. It doesn't matter if both boys are already twenty six years old; you're still older than them. I need to make sure you get them to return safely." Yumiko smiled. If being the oldest had all these quirks, she liked it. And being the oldest also meant that she was the most experienced, thus able to find another way to save the dimension more quickly.

"And I have three years to do this?" Yumiko asked.

"Yes, but as soon as possible would be nice," Tamao said.

"Well, I have one more question. Why did you need it to be a girl?" Yumiko asked.

"I'll be the last one to leave this dimension. I wanted someone to accompany me. Because, I don't know if you already know this or not, but whenever a Returner returns to the future, or they live one until the day in their past life that they returned, on that day, the one who I'm 'impersonating' will die.

"Like, for example, in Seiichi's case, when he either returns to the future, which, with your help, he probably will, or, if for some unknown reason he lives on until August 15, 2018, on that date, his beloved older sister will die, because I am not needed anymore in his life."

Yumiko gasped and all was silent. "Does that mean that when I tur—I mean, when I return to the future, you will—"

"That's right, you're friend, Tamao, myself, will die. I'm sorry, but that's the way it has to be."

Yumiko dropped the phone on her bed. After a while, she heard the click of the other phone hanging up. She still did not make a move.

"If you would like to make a call, please hang up and try again…"

* * *

'Kay, first things first. REVIEW! xD;; But anyway, first of all, the name 'Naruko' is not supposed to refer to 'Naruto' or anything to do with it. I just happened to look up some Japanese names on the Internet and liked the sound of it. It fit with her personality. So don't get anything confused. xD;; 

Second of all, I'm obsessed with the phrase 'Caller ID _exists_, you know.' So if you've seen it before in one of my other fanfictions (I believe it was 'Flash Effects', if I'm not mistaken), that's probably why. So, anyway, _please review before you add to your favorites or story alert! _Reviews make me feel better, and I like to know your opinions and everything. And I love replying to reviews. Thanks to all my kind reviewers:-D


	5. Chapter 5

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

Gah, I know I might be wearing you guys out with the information. There is a little here, too, but please bear with me until after this chapter! The rest will be much lighter (at least on the confusing stuff). I'm still working hard on my other story, and I'm trying to finish it as soon as possible. But again, in the mean time, enjoy this story! It's one of my favorite pairings, Yukimura and Fuji! They're so adorable together (as Yumiko states in this chapter):3 But anyway, please read, review, and enjoy!

**Chapter 5:**

Fuji woke up to the bright sunshine streaming into his eastern window. He felt unusually warm, but there was a steady breeze coming into his room. Fuji didn't open his eyes. Why did he feel so nice and warm? He hadn't felt like this ever since he had stopped sleeping in the same bed with Yumiko. Was there another person—

He opened his eyes. Oh, Yukimura, he thought and smiled. He should've known. He leaned his head into Yukimura's chest. He was accustomed to doing that to anyone who was taller than him (which were…a lot of people). Especially if they were sleeping in the same bed.

"Morning, Syusuke," Yukimura said quietly.

"Good morning," Fuji mumbled.

"Did you have a good night's sleep?" the future captain asked.

Just then, the door swung open. Fuji was still huddled in Yukimura's arms. "Syusuke! Seiichi! Hurry and get dressed! I have something to tell you!" Yumiko said as she ran into the room.

"What's the news?" Syusuke asked, sitting up, pulling the taller boy up with him.

Yumiko looked at them. "Awww, you two look so cute! But anyway, I'm going to tell you when you get up." And she walked out of the room.

------------------------------

Yumiko stood outside her brother's door. She didn't mean to cause such a ruckus, but she needed to grab her brother's attention. She remembered her friend's words. _That's right, you're friend, Tamao, myself, will die. _It was something she couldn't do anything about. But there was one thing that she could fix. Overnight, she had thought of a way for Yukimura and Syusuke to be together in the future.

She remembered her brother's words when he was explaining about the Returners to her. He had said that every day, a Returner was given the option to return to the future that they had been living before they had returned. But they were also given the option to return to what the future would be like after they had returned and mended all their mistakes. So it was like returning to the past, and then going into that world's future again. Which was what she intended to make all of them do.

She remembered that Tamao had told her that after they returned, this past would be discarded and forgotten about. She thought for a moment. How was that possible, if they were still living in the world? She came to the conclusion that every time a Returner returned, whether it was to the past or the future, a new world was created. A new world, or a duplicate of the Returner's memories. So that meant, she thought, that if they chose to return to the alternate future that they went back and created themselves, the worlds that they had been living in before they had returned to the past would be discarded also. Right now, True Light was keeping them somewhere in case they wanted to return to that world.

Yumiko sighed. This was all so confusing, but her main objective was to get them to return to the alternate future. But she was presented with another problem, then. If they returned to the alternate future now, there would still be a chance that her brother would be married off to that Sayaka girl from Seigaku, because their families were still close, though Syusuke had not attended that school. If she gave Syusuke three years to develop his relationship with his boyfriend, then maybe when they returned to the future, they would find themselves together.

Three years tops, Tamao had told her. But as soon as possible would be nice. Tamao, Yumiko thought, I'm not going to do this your way. I'm the one in charge of getting them to return, and I'm the one that will decide when they do. Otherwise, your whole world will be destroyed. And we don't want that to happen, do we? Yumiko smirked.

"Yumiko! Yumiko! What's the news?" Fuji came running down the stairs with Yukimura following him.

Yumiko picked out her words carefully. True Light never said anything about telling them, did she? "Syusuke, I have something good and bad to tell you. I have to tell you the bad news first, since the good news goes along with it."

"We're ready for the worst," Yukimura said.

Yumiko smiled grimly. "Trust me, you may not be."

"Well, there's nothing you can do about it now, so just tell us," Fuji said.

"You're right." Yumiko took a deep breath. "Tamao—" But then she remembered Naruko's words. _At all costs, DO NOT tell them who I am!_ She assumed that True Light didn't even want Yumiko to mention her at all. But what was the consequence? She was speechless. She hadn't thought this part of the plan through.

"Let me guess," Yukimura said. "Your friend, Tamao is True Light, and so is my sister. Fuji's True Light is someone that we don't know yet. One of the three told you something, and they also told you not to tell us that they are True Light. But you want to tell us what they told you, which obviously has something to do with Returners, yet you don't want to mention anything about them."

Both Fuji siblings looked at him wordlessly. "You just took the words right out of my mouth," the younger sibling said.

Yumiko smiled. "And _how_ did you know that?"

Yukimura smiled back. "I saw you talking to my sister in the kitchen yesterday. But then she just disappeared in a flash of light. Also, from all the books, True Light's human appearance fit's the description of my sister perfectly. I deducted that from the way you started the sentence that you were about to tell us, Tamao was also True Light. Otherwise, why would you talk about Tamao to us? We wouldn't be interested unless it had something to do with the Returners. And since us three are the three Returners in this world, the only other person that Tamao could be would be True Light."

"And you did that all in your head in that fraction of a second?" Yumiko asked.

"Yes," Yukimura replied.

"You are very worthy of being my brother's boyfriend, then!" Yumiko said.

"Hey! Yumiko!" Fuji shouted, embarrassed. She laughed. Nothing was happening. Yumiko smirked again. Naruko said not to _tell_ them who she was. She never said anything about not having them figure it out themselves. Everything was going according to her plan.

"But anyway, Tamao, a.k.a. True Light told me that we all have to return to the future," Yumiko said. No point in rushing the news.

Fuji looked shocked. "Was that the bad news?" he asked.

"Bad news indeed," Yukimura said under his breath.

"What's the good news then?" Fuji asked.

"The good news is that I have a plan for you to stay together," Yumiko replied. "I have to ask True Light about it first, but I'm almost certain that it'll work."

"Does she know about it?" Fuji asked.

"No. And I'm not planning to tell her. I'm just going to ask the questions, and she'll think it's just my plain curiosity. I did ask her quite a few questions yesterday regarding what she had told me, so there's no doubt she'll just think I'm curious to know more about Returners."

"Well, what's the plan?" Yukimura asked impatiently.

"True Light told me that I have three years to get you guys to return to the future."

"Three years from August 15th, right?" Fuji asked.

"Yeah. Otherwise, the world will be destroyed with all if us in it. When we return, the world will be merely 'discarded'."

"What's the difference?"

Yumiko sighed. "I'm not sure, but it's not really our business to know, and we don't have to know for the plan to work. But anyway, when you woke up, did True Light offer to have you return to the future?"

"Of course," Fuji said. "I figured that it was in my mind, because it happened right when you came into the room, and you didn't even react."

"Yeah, it is. But she also offered to have you return to the world after you mended your mistakes, right?" Yumiko asked.

Fuji and Yukimura looked at each other. "Yeah," they both said.

"So, I figured, though I'm not sure, that every time a Returner returns to the past _or_ the future, a new world is created. So if we return to the alternate future, a new world will still be created, and that'll be the same as returning to the world you were living in before you returned."

"Oh, I get it!" Yukimura and Fuji said simultaneously. They continued to speak together. "You want us to return to the alternate future in order to stay together."

"Yeah. But we can't do it now, or anytime soon, otherwise Syusuke might still be married off to that girl named Sayaka," Yumiko said. Yukimura looked at Fuji questioningly.

"In the past, I went to Seigaku, and Sayaka's family and my family were close. Her family was rich, and she liked me, so our parents figured that it would only be sensible to marry us," Fuji explained.

"Didn't they think about your feelings?" Yukimura asked.

"Yes, they did. Since she tagged around me more than any other girl, and I was polite to her because I'm naturally polite, they thought that I might've liked more than any other girl, anyway."

"Oh," Yukimura said. "It's sensible, but kind of…kind of like they didn't think twice about it."

"So I thought that maybe if I gave you three years for you and Seiichi to develop your relationship, you might end up together when we return to the future," Yumiko said. "There are a couple things I need to ask True Light about that, though, too."

"Like what?" Fuji asked. "Sounds like a great plan to me."

"Well, you need to consider some things about the nature of Returners. If we're not supposed to be in one world together, then will we return to the same world? If we don't, then there will be no point in this whole plan, since even though there will be a duplicate Seiichi in Syusuke's world and visa-versa, they won't be able to talk to each other about Returning, which is one of the main events in their lives."

"That's true, but why would she have to separate us when we return? We may have been Returners in the past, but since we've already returned to the past and future again, we're just normal people in the future world, right?" Yukimura asked.

"That might as well be true and all, but we don't want to take chances." Yumiko paused. "Especially with the…"

"The what?" both boys asked.

Yumiko looked down. "I suppose I can't hide it from you guys. Especially Seiichi. Tamao told me that every time a Returner returns to the future, or if they live up to the day that they returned, then the person that True Light was impersonating will die, since True Light is not needed anymore."

"You mean my sister…" Yukimura started.

"Yeah, she's going to die," Yumiko said. "As well as Tamao, and whoever Syusuke's True Light is."

Fuji looked down. He was still the only one out of the three Returners who know who his True Light was. He wanted to tell them, but for some reason, at the same time, he didn't. His True Light was Sayaka. He had figured it out when he and Yukimura were at the library the other day. As soon as Yukimura had told him about the black wavy hair and extraordinary beauty, Fuji had no doubt in his mind that True Light was indeed Sayaka.

That would be a problem for him, though. Well, Fuji thought, not for himself, but for one of his other dear friends in his past life that didn't know him yet in this life. He had heard Sayaka's parents talking about who they would've married Sayaka off to if it hadn't been Fuji. He heard that it would've been Tezuka. And since Fuji wasn't attending Seigaku now, if he and Yukimura further developed their relationship and ended up together, Sayaka would end up with Tezuka.

Fuji knew that Tezuka saw something in Sayaka that told him not to be as cold to her, and Fuji was happy for him and all, but he now knew that when he returned to the future, Sayaka would die. That wasn't that big of a problem for him, but Tezuka would be happily (or as happy as _Tezuka Kunimitsu_ could be) married to Sayaka, who would die as soon as Fuji returned, and he didn't want to cause Tezuka grief. But he couldn't do anything about it. Even if he didn't return to the future, as soon as August 15, 2018 arrived again, Sayaka would die anyway.

"Syusuke?" Yumiko asked. Fuji sighed. It would be better if he told them now than if they found out themselves or if he told them later.

"I have to tell you guys something," he said.

Yukimura was immediately by his side. "What is it?" he asked, with a concerned voice.

"I think I know who my True Light is," Fuji said.

"Who is it?" Yumiko and Yukimura asked.

"I think it's Sayaka," Fuji said. "You don't know her, Seiichi, but Yumiko…"

"No way," Yumiko said. "That girl? True Light?"

"Yeah. Seiichi knows that True Light is a phenomenal actress, acting all those personalities at once."

"But her voice! And Tamao, and Naruko! They're all different!" Yumiko said.

"They're all different ages," Yukimura said. "That might account for part of the difference."

"Now that I think about it, they do look quite alike," Yumiko said.

"Exactly," Fuji said.

"But she's not particularly close to you, is she?" Yukimura asked. "Considering that I've never met her before, and she doesn't go to Rikkaidai as far as I'm concerned."

"Not in this life," Fuji said.

"Oh, right," Yukimura said.

"Why didn't you tell use earlier?" Yumiko asked.

"Because I don't know what's going to happen to her now. Like, she's not going to be married to me if we pull the plan off right. I heard her parents saying that if they didn't marry her to me, they would've married her to Tezuka. They're going to be married, and as soon as I return, Sayaka's going to die, but I don't want to make Tezuka sad."

"Oh."

"I don't really know Tezuka," Yukimura said. "But I know that he's the top Junior Japanese player under me."

"I don't know if I should tell you this, but he's going to hurt his shoulder in the future and he's going to have to go to Germany for rehabilitation, according to my past life. Since he didn't know me back then, I don't think me going to Rikkaidai will change any of that. But while he was in Germany, Seigaku won the Kantou Tournament, defeating Rikkaidai. But with me, I'm not sure if Rikkaidai will win or lose," Fuji said.

"And if Rikkaidai wins, that may start a chain of events, whether they may be for the better or worse," Yumiko said.

"This is the main thing, though, Syusuke," Yukimura said. "Do you value Tezuka's life more than your own?"

"No," Fuji said resolutely.

"Then you just have to go with your sister's plan."

------------------------------

"Tamao?" Yumiko said over her cell phone later in the afternoon. She was sitting in her room alone, on her bed again.

"Yes, Yumiko?" Tamao said.

"I have to ask you a few questions regarding Returners."

"Are you in a secure place?"

"Yes."

"Then go ahead and ask."

Yumiko thought for a moment. "My first question is that when a Returner returns to the past or future, is a new world created for them?"

There was a pause on the line. "How did you figure that out?" Tamao asked.

Yumiko smirked. One point for me, she thought. "I just figured so after you told me that when we return, this world will be discarded." She wasn't lying anymore. They would be returning all right, but not in the way True Light might've expected.

"Oh, okay. Well then, yes, a new world is created every time a Returner returns to the future or past."

"My next question is that when Syusuke, Seiichi, and I return, will we be returning to the same world together?" Yumiko asked.

"Why?"

This is where my acting skills come in, Yumiko thought. "Just curious."

Tamao didn't waste any time in answering the question, which meant that she believe Yumiko. The Fuji sister smiled. Two points. "Well, since this has never happened before, I guess it wouldn't matter to me either way. It's not like you guys will be Returners anymore once you return. You'll just know of the secret, and with your nature, I doubt either of your three will be sharing it with anyone else anytime soon."

Everything's going according to plan, Yumiko said. Perfect.

"So, yeah, I guess you guys will be returning to the same world, if you want to."

"That's great," Yumiko said. "Thanks for your help."

"Any time, Yumiko."

* * *

Okay, no more information, no more confusing stuff! I bet you guys are all saying that. I had to explain a lot of things in these beginning chapters, so I'm sorry! D; There's no more...so I guess that's good news...to most, anyway. There's more fluff in the chapters to come. :D Please review! 


	6. Chapter 6

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

Okay, this chapter is short (well, not _that_ short, but you get the point. Only, like, 2000 words). It's short and kind of angsty. ;; So...uh...I guess that's good news for some and bad news for others (like me...if I was the one reading it instead of writing it). D; Sorry to break the three day rule! I updated a day late! But anyway, please read, review, and enjoy (that's turning into my catch phrase, isn't it? o-o;;)!

**Chapter 6:**

_Fuji opened his eyes to a dim light coming from above. He looked around. People were on the streets, walking, almost with no feeling, to an unknown destination. The sky was a burnt orange hue, and the trees were darkened, nearly black. His back was against the only tree with some hint of life. He stood up, and immediately after, the tree submitted to the demonic aura around him and was black like all the other ones. Where was he?_

_He was standing in a park, he knew that. Or at least what was left of a park. The only thing he recognized in the barren wasteland was the barely discernable path that he once walked. He remembered now. He had once walked this path, when he was 26 years old with his son. He stepped onto the path._

_People immediately turned their lifeless faces to him. They shouted at him, unrecognizable words of malice. What had this world come to? Children were on the streets with their parents. The clothes of the people were normal enough, but they seemed to be…gray. Fuji looked up to the sky. It was cloudless, yet it seemed to get darker and darker with each passing moment. What he did not know, though, was that the entire sky was a cloud. The sky in its entirety had been swallowed by the dark depths of the declining universe. The declining universe…the declining…dimension._

_Fuji remembered now. Was he in the future? Would the world be like this if he did not return? Hr brushed back his hair, which was longer, almost down to his shoulders. He was definitely in the future. When Yumiko had told him 'destroyed', this wasn't exactly as he had imagined. It was worse. Instead of an instant explosion, destroying the whole world at once, it was slowly but surely declining, making all the people suffer, trying to live in this gruesome world._

_Children were shouting words at him that they themselves did not bother to figure out the meaning of, yet they seemed to grab Fuji's heart and rip it to pieces. 'Returner', they called him. 'The only one left in this dimension', 'the one that destroyed the world'. 'It's all your fault, Fuji Syusuke', 'You're the only one that didn't want to go'._

_Fuji turned and ran. Everything around him was still getting darker. It wasn't the dark that people thought was peaceful—guided by the moon's pale glow, a serene blue tint in the sky, the horizon still a pastel soft cerulean—no, it was a dark, red-orange color, trapping him in its dark clutches with every step he took._

_The people did not chase after him, yet it seemed to be that he could not leave the park. Every time he turned to take a look back at the ones behind him, when he turned around, everything would reset itself and he would be back where he began running. What's happening? This declining world, these helpless, hopeless people. There were no stars, no moon, no sun. It seemed like everything was just lit by the pure animosity of the people, the only feeling they expressed on their faces, which were all still directed to the one and only Fuji Syusuke._

_I don't understand, Fuji thought. I was going to Return, I agreed to Yumiko's request without hesitation. I agreed to return, as long as I was given three year's time to get myself together and arrange my future for myself. I don't understand what's going on. Why am I the only one left?_

_The darkness, slowly, cruelly engulfed him, making him anticipate how much he would be allowed to see after he took the next step. Step after step, Fuji kept running, into nowhere, into nothingness. There were people and trees around him, but they meant nothing, because they were nothing. They stood, but they did not know that they were standing. They thought, enough to be shouting those words at Fuji, but they did not know what they were shouting. What has this world come to? Fuji thought. Is it all my fault? Where is everyone?_

_Fuji kept running. Hopeless, the word shot across his mind like a sharpened steel arrow. It's hopeless, I'll never get anywhere by running like this. Fuji shook his head. What am I thinking? If I keep thinking like this, I'll just turn into one of those people. I have to keep thinking like myself._

_Fuji, in his urgency, tripped over something nonexistent to him. He fell onto the ground, barely catching himself with his arms. Why am I hurrying? Fuji thought. The people aren't chasing after me; I can just take my time. I can just keep walking, and I'll be okay. Even if I don't walk, they won't hurt me…but there he was again, he thought, slapping himself in the forehead. If I stay here too long…he didn't even want to think about what would happen to him. In fact, it was already happening, and he found that he didn't want to think at all._

_The process was slow, but it was going by way too fast for him. Fuji sat still on the ground, looking straight down, trying to think of something, anything. Anything to keep himself a human being. He grudgingly looked up, looking for a light at the end of the tunnel._

_Miraculously, there it was. He was still young, but his blue wavy hair had lost it's shine. The icy indigo eyes had lost their sharpness, and his gaze had lost…it had lost everything. Everything about him was darker, and less unique. But yet, he was to Fuji still a light, and he still gave him hope. The love of his life, Yukimura Seiichi._

_Fuji stood up and started to run again. Run towards the light, that was barely visible among the other people. As he ran through groups and crowds of people, they turned away and were shoved away by Fuji's desperate arms. They did not say anything; did Fuji expect them to? _

_Finally, he reached a clearing, and in the middle was his destination. 'Seiichi!' he tried to shout. The wind swept up his voice and carried it away in the breeze. The blue haired boy did not hear him. Nevertheless, Fuji ran to his lover, who did not seem to see him, even though they were but a few meters apart. As Fuji closed in on Yukimura, who was still taller than him, though three years had obviously passed, the taller boy stepped back. Fuji stepped forward and Yukimura stepped back into the crowd._

'_No!' he said, but again his voice was not heard. 'No! Please!' he tried again. But the crowed engulfed Yukimura and he was no longer discernable. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around Fuji's neck. He didn't need to turn his head to see who it was, as long wavy black hair fell onto his shoulders. He yanked himself from Sayaka's grasp and turned around to face her._

_She stood, staring at him and waving unresponsively. She was wearing a sleek black dress that hugged her hips and thighs and glittered in the dimness of the world's light. All of a sudden, Fuji wanted her to stay. He wanted her to stay, because her glittering dress was the only true light left. True Light…but Fuji didn't have time to think as her clothes faded into a pale blue shirt and a white skirt that, unlike many of the seemingly white things the people around her were wearing, was truly white. Fuji stepped toward her and she did not make a move. Headphones appeared around her neck, and she was suddenly younger. 'Naruko!' Fuji shouted, trying to get her attention, but she didn't even flinch._

_She still stood there, waving at Fuji, as though saying goodbye. Her skirt and shirt again changed, this time into one piece again. But the dress this time was a casual white khaki dress that seemed to sparkle in this world. Lavender belts appeared across her slim waist and their buckles were silver and shining._

_Fuji stepped toward her, more quickly this time. Stay, he thought. Stay and bring light into this world, Tamao, Naruko, Sayaka…True Light. But as Fuji touched her other hand, which was down by her side, she shimmered and faded into dust, that seemed to amazingly weigh down the harsh breeze. 'No!' Fuji shouted again. He collapsed onto the ground in front of what was left of the light._

_Someone knelt down next to him, and a single tear fell into the dust, darkening that spot. A tear! Fuji thought. Someone here can cry! Fuji turned his head and next to him was someone all too familiar. Tezuka…Kunimitsu? Fuji thought to himself. In fact, now that he looked at it, there were two other people next to Tezuka, each who contributed their own tears to the pile of glittering dust._

_The one next to Tezuka was Yumiko, Fuji's dear older sister. Why her? Fuji thought. Tamao. Her best friend had just faded into dust. Of course. Next to Yumiko was the one who Fuji had been searching for, Yukimura Seiichi, staring at the pile that was once his beloved older sister. Both Yumiko and Yukimura looked up, and this time, they acknowledged Fuji. All three of them reached out to grasp each other's hands, and the moment their fingers touched each other, there was a bright flash of light, and everything went white for a split second, and then all was completely black._

_--------------------------------------- _

Fuji sat up abruptly. He was breathing heavily and his forehead and neck were covered in sweat. The room was dark, only lit by a white nightlight and the glow of the moon from outside his thin curtains, which were blowing. Did he forget to close the window that night?

Fuji was still too shocked to think about that. What had just happened? He looked around. He was still in his room, his familiar room. Everything was where he had left it before, and the sky was navy blue. Fuji stood up and walked to the window. He threw back the curtains and felt the icy December breeze on his face. The wind felt good, calming his nerves a bit.

Fuji had been having those kinds of dreams for a while now, ever since Yumiko had told him the news two and a half months ago. Whenever he was in the dream, though, he never seemed to remember that he had had the same dream before. This time, though, it was different.

Usually, his dreams ended in his falling into a black abyss, never hitting the ground; never hitting anything. This time, though, Yumiko and Yukimura were there, and when they touched hands, everything went white first, instead of black.

A hand wrapped around his own from behind. "Are you okay?" Yukimura's quiet, gentle voice said. Fuji didn't realize how much he longed to hear that melodic voice.

Tears fell from Fuji's eyes. "I can't take it anymore," he said as he fell into the taller boy's arms. "These dreams, I can't take it anymore." He wept silently into Yukimura's chest and rested his hands on his lover's shoulders. Yukimura's arms wrapped slowly around Fuji's waist. The wind blew steadily, cooling both boys.

"The dreams, have you been having them, too?" Yukimura asked Fuji, who nodded. "I think I might've just had the same dream as you," he whispered, tears running own his own cheeks.

Yumiko entered the room with a tear streaked face. "What is this world coming to?" she said quietly. "The entire sky covered in cloud, lifeless faces staring at you and shouting malicious words that they themselves don't even recognize. The ones you love leaving you…"

"Black trees, loss of hope," Fuji added.

"Naruko, Sayaka, and Tamao," Yukimura said. "True Light fading into nothingness."

"Are we the only ones that can stop this from happening?" Fuji said.

Yumiko paused, choosing her next words carefully. "Yet, somehow, I feel that it's still our fault."

* * *

Okay, sad chapter is done. Next chapter will be nice and heartwarming! I promise! And three new characters will be introduced next chapter...one of them is an OC, but it's a he. Well...you've read about him before, but I never bothered to reveal his name...and two of them are people you may know pretty well. :D Anyway, please review! 


	7. Chapter 7

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

When I uploaded this document, I was like, "Holy shit! This is long!" Compared to the last one, at least. I think in one of my other fanfictions, I might've had a 4000 word chapter. o-o;; But this one is around 3500, or so. If you include my little author's note at the beginning, and the one at the end. This chapter is kind of cute and funny, or normal. Not super-hilarious, but it's a nice break from all the sadness of the last chapter. ;-; And yes, a couple new characters are introduced! The first word of this chapter introduces a character. ;D He's one of my favorites, too!

In this chapter, I got some of my facts messed up. o-o;; I tried to fix it a bit, but it seems kind of ironic in the later chapters. It's not a story-changing event, though. In one of the later chapters, I also got one of my facts messed up, but it doesn't really matter (it applies to the story, but changing it isn't really going to change any events or anything). I'll tell you about those later. But in the meantime, I hope you read, review, and enjoy! And try to ignore those little mistakes. :D

**Chapter 7:**

Marui Bunta looked up from what he was doing. Which was highly unusual for him, since his concentration was almost never wavered. But today, he just felt compelled to look up. Of course, he was sitting with his back to the outside wall of the tennis team's clubroom. He always did his homework there, since that was where he could concentrate the most.

He was used to hearing the constant pong of tennis balls against racquets and the occasional crack of the racquet hitting to ground and a shout of frustration. Marui knew the sounds of the courts perfectly, like the sound of a tennis ball against the fence, or against the ground. He could see a game for a couple seconds, and if he closed his eyes and concentrated hard enough, he could keep track of the game and who just got the last point.

Today, though, he was sitting on the grass, hearing nothing except for the rustle of the leaves in the wind. The team didn't have practice today. Any sounds near the tennis courts, though, sounded nice to Marui. Suddenly, he heard the familiar sound of a ball hitting a racquet, hitting the ground, and a second later, that ball slammed against the fence. Marui didn't have to look up to know that. But after it hit the fence, it hit something else metal that Marui didn't recognize, and he heard a lot of balls hitting the court. With that sound, and the knowledge that there wasn't supposed to be anyone on the courts today compelled Marui to look up from what he was doing in curiosity.

And today, he just happened to look up to see a very wonderful person walking across the courts to retrieve his tennis ball.

----------------------------------

Fuji smiled. It was a beautiful March day, and miraculously, it was warm enough to play tennis. The breeze shook the branches of the trees around the courts gently and the sun was blocked by the clouds. Fuji liked that when he was playing tennis, though, because if the sun was shining, he couldn't serve. Which was exactly what he was doing today.

The team didn't have practice that day, so Fuji was just practicing his serves himself. He had remembered to bring two whole hoppers full of tennis balls, and had just hit one serve when the ball landed in the correct service box, crashed against the fence, bounced off, and hit the other hopper of tennis balls. The hopper fell over and all the balls tumbled onto the ground. Fuji sighed and started to walk over to the other court to pick up the balls.

He had just jumped over the net when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Or rather, a _head_ on his shoulder, as he soon figured out when he turned and came face to face with a pink haired boy that he had seen doing his homework against the wall of the clubroom just a couple minutes ago.

"Hello," Fuji said pleasantly, despite the awkward intimacy. He hid his uncertainty and smiled a charming smile.

"Hi," the boy replied. He kept staring at Fuji.

Fuji, on the other hand, was feeling uncomfortable. He wasn't used to it, since with his personality; no one dared approach him so suddenly. But he had to give it to this boy; he was the first one to make him feel so vulnerable in a long time. "What's your name?" Fuji asked.

"Marui. Marui Bunta."

"I'm—"

"I know," Marui said. "You're Fuji Syusuke, super-star first year ace of the tennis team, along with Yukimura Seiichi."

"Well, you've done your research," Fuji said, smiling.

"Of course, but it's not that hard. You're famous in Rikkaidai! Plus, you're a genius at every subject. Who wouldn't know you?"

Fuji nodded. "I didn't know that many people knew about me. I don't really pay attention to that kind of stuff."

Marui's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?! Why not? Anyone I know would do anything to be popular, and you just pull it off effortlessly, and don't even care about it?!"

Fuji tilted his head and tapped his chin. "I guess I don't really care how popular I am anymore, because I already have someone very special to me." He smiled at the thought.

Marui shrugged. "Well, you _are_ popular among the girls. So I guess I'm not surprised."

Fuji smiled again, not saying anything.

"But it's no wonder you're also popular among the boys," Marui continued. "You're very pretty." Fuji's eyes snapped open, revealing deadly cerulean. "And look at those eyes!" Marui took Fuji's hands.

Someone approached the two of them; someone tall. Fuji looked up and saw that it was the team captain. "Fuji, that was an incredible serve," he said, walking up to the pair. "Could you dupli—oh, what's this?" he said, staring at Marui. "Another boy who has taken a liking to Fuji."

Fuji sighed.

"You know, Yukimura is coming to pick up Fuji any time now, and he wouldn't—speak of the devil," the captain said.

The two younger boys turned to where the captain was looking and saw Fuji's boyfriend (unknown to Marui at that time) walking up to them. "He's not going to like this," the captain said under his breath.

But those words were words that Fuji Syusuke fed off of. Being the sadistic, genius boy that he was, he decided to test Yukimura. As the future captain approached them, Fuji sighed more or less dramatically and fell into Marui's arms.

"Wha?" Marui said. Fuji elbowed him lightly. Getting the hint, as Yukimura arrived on the scene, Marui breathed, "Pretty…" into Fuji's ear.

The captain eyed them curiously, but kept silent. Yukimura smiled sweetly. "Syusuke, you seem to have made a new friend."

"Yes, I have, I'm glad you noticed, Seiichi," Fuji said, leaning back onto Marui's chest. He smiled. "Marui, meet Seiichi, Seiichi, meet Marui."

"Pleased to meet you," Yukimura said in an icy tone, yet with a touch of honey. "Now, Syusuke, let's go."

"Saa, what's the rush, Seiichi? We were just getting to know each other," Fuji said.

Yukimura crossed his arms and stared at Fuji in a way that anyone would be able to tell that he was annoyed. And no one wanted to cross an annoyed Yukimura Seiichi. Fuji could even feel Marui flinch behind him. But Fuji just smiled back at his boyfriend pleasantly.

He decided to push the blue haired boy to the limit. And no one but Fuji Syusuke could do that. "Besides, I was intending to walk home with Marui today. I'm sure you understand, right?"

Yukimura finally stalked up to the pair, grabbed Fuji's wrist, and pulled him right out of Marui's arms. _S-strong,_ Fuji thought, eyes opening. _Despite the thin frame_. He hugged the brunette. "Get your hands off of my Syusuke," he said. Normally, people would've shouted this phrase, but Yukimura didn't shout.

Meanwhile, the captain just stood aside, staring at this display of emotion from the future captain. _Fuji, Fuji, Fuji. This is why we have you on our team. It makes tennis practice all the more interesting. Even on the days we don't have practice._ He sighed and waited to see how Marui would react. But he seemed to already know that it was all an act.

"Haha, okay, playtime over," Marui said. "See you tomorrow, Fuji."

"See you," Fuji replied, latching himself onto his boyfriend's arm.

When the two were out of hearing range, Yukimura sighed and said, "Why do you do this to me, Syusuke?"

Fuji smiled. "I just know that if you were in that position, you'd do the same thing."

"You think?"

"Of course!" Fuji said and laughed. "We're almost the same, anyway."

"Which is why we get along _so well_," Yukimura said, slinging an arm around Fuji's shoulders. "What is he to you?"

Fuji shrugged, not needing Yukimura to specify who 'he' was. "Fanboy, I guess."

"Did you even know him before today?"

Fuji shook his head, and Yukimura laughed. "I've seen him around school, and around the courts. He's in a couple of our classes. He seems to like to hang around the tennis courts, but he never plays. He seems like the type that would enjoy tennis, though. He's good looking, and smart."

"Yeah, I guess, to an extent."

"Well, he gets good grades, at least. He's right under you and I in math." Yukimura sighed and Fuji laughed. "I'm sure we'll get along well."

"He'd be an asset to our team," Yukimura said. "Seems like a good doubles player."

"Yeah, he's the type that'll get along with anyone."

Both Yukimura and Fuji smiled at the same time their smiles that would let anyone know that they were up to something. They looked at each other. "Say," Fuji said. "Why don't we—"

"Convince him to play tennis? I'm way ahead of you there," Yukimura said.

"I'm glad."

----------------------------------

"Well, would you look at that? It looks like someone is even ahead of us," Fuji whispered. They were both currently watching Marui the next day after school from behind the gate to the city park that had tennis courts. The brick wall surrounding the park was taller than they were, so they propped themselves up with their elbows. Marui was with a boy from another school who was coaching him in the sport they all loved so much.

"That's a rare thing," Yukimura said. "Someone being ahead of us, I mean."

"It just means that Marui has connections."

They continued to watch the pair. When they looked closely, though, the other boy wasn't really _teaching_ Marui anymore. They were just hitting back and forth, Marui with some winners and the other boy with some winners, as well as unforced errors for both of them. They would occasionally stop for a break, during which Marui would pop a piece of cake or a candy into his mouth.

"Marui's pretty good," Yukimura commented, and Fuji nodded. They looked at each other.

"You want to go and show them how real tennis is played?" Fuji said.

"It's not like they were playing fake tennis," Yukimura pointed out.

"We'll just go up and show them how good some juniors in the nation are," Fuji said. "No harm in that, right?"

"But Marui already knows."

"But then we can show the other boy. He'll go back and tell his team, and they'll be intimidated by 'The Great Rikkai Dai Fuzoku'," Fuji said.

"Somehow, I don't think that's going to be the case with the team he's from," Yukimura said.

"Why not?"

"I just have this gut feeling."

Fuji shrugged. "Then we can just do it for fun." Yukimura nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so." He jumped off the wall and pulled Fuji down. They grabbed their tennis stuff that they had taken with them and ran into the courts.

Yukimura had picked the prime time to waltz onto the court, because at that time, some people had walked in before them and had taken the last open court. This was going to be easier than they had thought.

"Oh bummer," Yukimura said, not too dramatically, but loud enough for the two other junior players to hear. "No more open courts."

"Hey!" the boy who was playing with Marui shouted. "You two know Bunta, don't you? Want to play doubles with us?"

Fuji and Yukimura looked at each other and smiled. All the while, Marui was shaking his head frantically, and at the last question, he smacked himself in the forehead. "We'd be glad to."

The boy bounced up to them. "Great! By the way, I'm Akutagawa Jiroh, but you can just call be Jiroh," he said quickly. "But there's one rule."

"What is it?" Fuji asked.

Jiroh winked at them. "You two can't play together."

Yukimura and Fuji looked at each other again.

"What, did you think I was stupid enough to let two of the best junior players in the nation play doubles together against us? Plus, you guys probably have a good combination, too. That won't be fair, right?" Jiroh stuck his tongue out and grinned.

"That's fine then," Yukimura said without hesitation. "Syusuke can be on _your_ team," he said, obviously intending to keep Fuji away from Marui.

"Yay! Now, it's really time to play," Jiroh said, and bounced over to the baseline with Fuji in tow.

"Three set match, Jiroh to serve," their makeshift referee said. Fuji was in front, as with Yukimura, and Jiroh and Marui were in the back. Jiroh served a decent serve and ran up to the net. _Serve and volley?_ Fuji thought. _This is going to be interesting_. Fuji knew that with both of them in front, the other team was sure to be slightly intimidated, but it wouldn't work with Yukimura and Marui. Yukimura was usually never intimidated by anything, and Marui had excellent concentration. But volleying was also an easier way to get the ball in the court and to get easy winners, especially with the doubles alley available for them to use.

So many things were running through Fuji's head that he almost missed the ball that was sailing over his head. Instead, though, he turned and hit it facing backwards with the back side of his racquet and sent it whizzing down into the front corner of the opposite side. Marui didn't even have time to react as the ball hit the fence. Fuji landed gracefully back on his right foot, turned, and smiled. _An interesting match indeed_. That thought was running through all four of their heads.

The next rally was even better, though. Jiroh served and ran to the net yet again. Yukimura's cross court return was strong, and Jiroh couldn't do anything but let it hit his racquet and pop off. It went high into the sky, and Marui was already in position for an overhead. He smashed the ball straight to Fuji, who pulled off a move that he had been practicing. He let it come to his racquet and when it hit, he quickly swept his racquet across his torso and let it bounce off. It went yet again very high, and the other team was sure it was going out. Yukimura, though, ran to the very back of the court anyway, and when it landed on the baseline, he was almost ready, though expecting it to go out. But with his surprise, he returned it awkwardly, and Jiroh dropped the ball over the net and Marui couldn't get to it fast enough.

----------------------------------

This was it, Fuji thought. Each of the teams was up a set, 6-3, 3-6. The score now was 6-6 and neither of the teams had been broken. They were currently in the tiebreak, and the score was 34-35, with Fuji's team in the lead, and their match point. This rally had been going on forever, and neither team was giving. Each person was diving for ever ball that came their way, and one team was looking to end the match, and one was fighting back. Whoever won the tiebreak would win the match. Fuji wanted to win so much, and to end this grueling three-set match.

----------------------------------

The captain of the Rikkaidai team was walking along the sidewalk near the city park. It was almost 11:00 in the evening, and there should've been no one there. Yet, as he neared the park's tennis courts, he heard the sound of a tennis ball hitting racquets. Who would be playing at this time? Especially since the court didn't have lights!

He ran inside the front gates and into the courts. He looked, and on the first court, there were two doubles teams playing each other. They were all young boys, probably in seventh grade. One of them, though, he thought he recognized, and looked closer. Sure enough, even in the darkness, he could tell that it was Fuji Syusuke playing at his hardest. He looked on the other team to find Yukimura Seiichi and Marui Bunta playing against Fuji and a boy from another school. They were all playing as hard as they could, probably to end the match.

The captain, Kagami Chuugo, watched, stunned to see these four boys, who were all normally so laid back and easygoing so intense. He had never seen any of them try so hard to keep in the match. He stood and watched for a moment, before realizing that there was a light drizzle. Rain? On the Friday that had begun so beautifully.

He felt the drizzle turn into a hard downpour, and yet the boys didn't even seem to notice it. They still dove for every ball that they had to and got up and sprinted back to where they were supposed to be next. Their feet were sliding around in every which direction and they barely managed to keep their balance.

Kagami wanted to see the end of the match, but he didn't want them to get hurt. When Fuji ran to the corner to get a ball and tried to bounce back but fell down hard onto his left shoulder, the captain decided to make the boys aware of his presence. "Hey! Guys, it's past 11:00 and raining cats and dogs!" he shouted.

Fuji got up, rubbing his shoulder and looked at the captain, who he only just noticed was there. "Oh, captain Kagami. We're sorry; we just wanted to end a tiebreak."

"How long has this tiebreak been going on?" the captain asked.

The four boys looked at each other. "More than four hours," Yukimura answered.

Kagami's jaw almost dropped, but instead, he managed to hold his ground. "Four hours and you guys can still stand up? I can barely see anything out here, and it won't do if you guys get colds. What are we going to do about the next tournament? And from the looks of it, Fuji just fell and hurt his shoulder. Let's get you guys out of here. But first, let's treat Fuji's wound."

The boys looked down. "One more point," Jiroh said. "One more point and we would've had this match." They sat down on the bench, and the captain kneeled before Fuji and had him take off his shirt. On Fuji's left shoulder, there was a long, bleeding gash that ran from his shoulder halfway down to his elbow. Kagami touched it gently and Fuji winced.

"Does anyone have something to wrap this up with?" the captain said. The rain had slowed down and had become a light drizzle again. Marui dug into his bag and pulled out a towel.

"Here," he handed it to the Kagami. He looked at it and tore off a strip. He wrapped it around Fuji's shoulder.

"I'll take your stuff, Syusuke," Yukimura said. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's not a problem," Fuji managed to say quietly and smiled. "We'll have to play that point out some other time."

"Marui, if you can take this boy home, it would be great. Yukimura and I will walk Fuji home and make sure he gets proper treatment," Kagami said.

"Thanks," Fuji said. "Thanks for stopping the match. I don't think we would've stopped otherwise, until one team had won."

"And that wouldn't have happened any time soon," Kagami said under his breath. He brushed back his hair.

* * *

Okay, for the record, here's the mistake I made. I kept thinking when I was writing the entire story that it was Jiroh who influenced Marui's net play. But it was opposite. Marui beat Jiroh in the Newcomer's tournament, which was revealed in the manga, I think, so I made that an event. But it's kind of ironic, because in the chapter of my story, Jiroh's teaching Marui. But if I'd had made it the other way around, I would've had to change a ton of events (pretty much this entire chapter). So I guess you'll just have to deal with it, right? There is another mistake in the story, but that's later.

Three characters introduced! Kagami...is the captain of the tennis team, as I'm sure you all know. Kagami was taken from the name of the character in the pilot chapter of Death Note, and Chuugo was from...I don't even know. I think I just made it up. xD;; He plays a kind of important part later in the story, so remember him. Jiroh was just in this chapter, so if you're hoping for more Jiroh...uh...tough luck? Marui appears later, sort of, but he's not as important as some of the other side characters (Yumiko, Naruko, Tamao, Kagami).

Wow, this author's note was long. xD;; Anyway, please review!


	8. Chapter 8

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

'Kay, so this chapter is kind a long while from the last chapter. I don't think I'd have had the patience to write, like, a chapter for every month of three years or something. I just wrote about the important stuff. Oh yeah, this is the chapter where I got my facts kind of messed up, but unless you're, like, SUPER SUPER SUPER obsessed with Prince of Tennis, or you've written about this event, I don't think you're going to notice. xD;; If you do, good job. :D I'll tell you the mess up at the end of the chapter, but don't read about it now! It kind of ruins the chapter. xD;;

I made some things up in this chapter, too, for the heck of it. I could so imagine Yukimura and Fuji play doubles together in their first year. If Fuji went to Rikkaidai, that is. And I could imagine Shiraishi and Chitose playing doubles together, too. :D And I'm not sure who the regulars were in Seigaku in the first year, but I don't think Kikumaru was a regular yet, so he's not (he's not a regular) in this story. And the Newcomer's tournament thing is here. xD;; One more little author's note: I think the Japanese school year starts in April or something, so their events are a little off...but I based this story on the American school year, so deal with it. August 15, Fuji wasn't in school yet. So yeah.

So please read, review, and enjoy!

**Chapter 8:**

Marui's green bubble gum popped all over his face and hair. Great. He heard Fuji laughing and helping him try to get it off. This was totally NOT his best day ever.

Yukimura, Fuji, and Marui were now in their second year of junior high school. They flew through the Nationals in their first year; Yukimura and Fuji playing doubles together. Fuji's arm had healed just in time for the Kantou Tournament, and he played his best there, determined to go to the Nationals. Sure enough, they did, and they were placed the draw against some very difficult schools; their hardest matches being against Seigaku and Shitenhouji. But in the end, as predicted, Rikkai Dai Fuzoku prevailed and won the National Tournament for the year of 2005.

At the Nationals, Fuji spotted some people he knew from his past life. He smiled when he saw Kikumaru Eiji, his past best friend, cheering for Seigaku on the sidelines, and Shiraishi Kuranosuke playing doubles with Chitose Senri, since they were also still first years.

But one thing that was a surprise that year was that Marui participated in the Newcomer's Tournament. That wasn't the surprise, but the surprise was that he defeated the one that was previously coaching him, Akutagawa Jiroh. What Jiroh said after the match was, "Well, a good teacher always strives for his student to defeat him someday."

Marui had replied with, "I wouldn't consider you a teacher just yet."

Now, it was November of the next year, and of course, there was no tennis practice. Yukimura, Fuji, and Marui were waiting out the sudden snow to walk home and Marui was, as usual, chewing his gum. They sat there quietly, in the clubroom against the lockers. There was no sound except for the wind outside, and the occasional pop of bubblegum.

Fuji began to laugh at Marui, and Yukimura turned to them. He saw Fuji prying gum off of Marui's face and smiled. Suddenly, he felt coughs coming up his throat. He tried to stifle them, but came to no avail. Fuji was immediately by his side again, with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay, Seiichi?" he asked.

Yukimura continued to cough for a while, and when he finally stopped, he said, "Yeah, I'm fine," in a hoarse voice.

"You don't sound fine," Marui said between fragments of gum still remaining on his face.

"I'm fine," Yukimura tried to say more loudly, but his throat was really bothering him.

"I'm going to call my sister to pick us up," Fuji said. "No use walking home and playing in the snow if Seiichi's sick. It'll just make his condition worse."

"I'm not sick," Yukimura said.

Fuji felt his forehead. "You're sick. Don't try to argue, Seiichi. My sister will be here any moment. Just stay here and wait. I'll be waiting at the front gate."

"In this snow?" Marui asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"You better be. It won't do to have another sick person on the tennis team, especially our two sick ones being our No.1 Doubles team."

"Don't worry." And Fuji ran out the door.

------------------------------

"Where is Yukimura?" captain Kagami asked the next day. They didn't have practice that day, of course, but the captain was still worried for his teammates. It made Fuji smile, the way the captain was so caring and he _showed_ it, unlike another captain that Fuji knew once.

Fuji and Marui looked at each other.

"Tell me," he said in a commanding voice.

Fuji sighed. Though Kagami was different, in a way, he was still very much like Tezuka. That way being that no one could refuse his request. "He was sick yesterday, and he's probably staying home today."

"Aah," the captain said. It was afternoon, and school had just ended. "Then Marui, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm going to walk Fuji home, since there is something I must talk to him about."

Marui looked at Fuji, who gave him a confused look back. He shrugged. "All right then. See you tomorrow. Fuji, make sure you call Yukimura."

Fuji nodded. As soon as Marui was out of sight, Fuji turned to Kagami and asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Kagami looked to the sky, and at that moment, it began to snow lightly. Fuji stayed silent, awaiting the captain's answer and pulling his jacket tighter around him. "Are you cold?" Kagami asked.

Fuji reluctantly nodded. There was no lying to the captain.

"Take my jacket. Why did you bring such a light one in the middle of November?"

Fuji smiled. "All my jackets are blue. In the morning, I was kind of in a rush and I grabbed the wrong one."

"That can't possible be the only reason," Kagami said. "This jacket is not only lighter in appearance, but also in weight, and smaller, too. You would've noticed before exiting your house."

"I was worried about Seiichi," Fuji said simply. "I wondered if he would come to school today."

"Ah," Kagami said. They continued to walk in a comfortable silence, until the captain said, "Fuji, is Yukimura special to you?"

Fuji looked up at Kagami. "Of course!" he said. "Haven't you noticed already?"

Kagami nodded silently and remained quiet. Fuji looked down. Who was this guy? And why was he so easily able to unnerve Fuji like that? His question trapped Fuji in deep thought. It could've been regarded as an innocent question, asked out of curiosity, but Fuji knew it was more than that.

"Fuji, can I see your shoulder?" Kagami asked.

Fuji snapped his head right back up. "Captain, that was half a year ago. It's healed already." But he slipped off Kagami's jacket and took off the left side of his own jacket anyway. Kagami took Fuji's arm gently and rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt. There was still a long scar down Fuji's arm, and it looked like it would be there for a while.

"What a nasty scar," Kagami said. He took off his glove and fingered it lightly. The sudden warm touch of Kagami's hand against Fuji's cold skin made him shiver. And he felt himself blushing, though trying not to. Oh well, he thought. If the captain saw him, he could blame it on the cold weather. "I'm sorry for not stopping the match earlier."

"Oh, it's not your fault," Fuji automatically replied. It was a reply he formed for almost everyone that apologized to him for any reason at all. "I was the one who slipped."

"But I just stood there, not doing anything."

"You wouldn't have been able to get to me in time to catch me anyway."

The captain remained silent. Despite his sharp mind, Fuji bested anyone at reasoning and arguing, even if it was casual. Kagami rolled down Fuji's sleeve and slipped both jackets on for him again. Regardless of his loss for a jacket at the moment, Kagami was not the least bit cold. Yes, he thought. Fuji Syusuke would be an excellent candidate. And this was the opportune moment.

"Fuji," Kagami said. He stopped, and not even a step later, Fuji stopped also. He put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Would you like to be the next captain of Rikkaidai's tennis team?"

Fuji's expression was one that Kagami didn't think he would ever see in his lifetime. It was a mixture of shock and horror. One would be surprised at the offer, but they probably wouldn't take on this expression. Kagami wondered why Fuji was so astonished.

"I—I can't accept this offer," Fuji said, stuttering. He turned to run to his house, since it was now only a couple of blocks away, but Kagami's reflexes were quick and he grabbed Fuji's hand.

"This is why I asked one more time if Yukimura and you were close," Kagami said, turning Fuji around to face him once again.

"What do you mean?" Fuji asked.

"I knew you were going to refuse. To be honest with you, no hard feelings or anything, but when I asked, I didn't really think you had what it took to be captain—by yourself. You lack the solid strength and composure, and sometimes you let your feelings backtrack you, proven by your sudden outburst right there. I thought Yukimura would be the next best candidate. He had a firm step and strong beliefs, and he never changes his mind. But he lacked your wonderful and ingenious reasoning skills and strategizing ability." Kagami rubbed the back of his neck. "I've never tried this before, but I was wondering if you two would like to be captain together."

Fuji looked at Kagami with a face of surprise, but it showed no hint of horror anymore; almost one of relief. He considered it for a moment. Yes, he knew that Kagami was the best captain he had ever known, and one of them alone would not be able to match his abilities. But together… "I'll have to discuss it with Seiichi," Fuji said smoothly, not letting any feeling show whatsoever, as to not let Kagami know about his thoughts.

"Masking your thoughts," Kagami said, as if reading Fuji's mind. "Yes, I'm sure you two will do well."

By now, they had reached Fuji's house. Fuji knocked on the polished wooden door, and it was soon opened by Fuji's sister, of course. "Welcome home, Syusuke. I was wondering if I would have to pick you up, since it just started snowing when your classes were finished."

"Oh, well, you didn't, since my team captain offered so kindly to walk me home," Fuji said just as effortlessly pleasantly as his sister.

Yumiko looked at the face of the person she failed to notice previously, and smiled at him. He smiled back kindly. "I'm afraid I don't know your name," she said.

"Kagami. Kagami Chuugo," the dark haired captain replied.

"Ah. I'm Fuji Yumiko, Syusuke's older sister."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kagami said, offering a hand, which Yumiko took. She was still taller than him, since she was a tall female, and he was only one year older than Fuji, who was nine years younger than her.

"Where's Seiichi? Doesn't he normally walk you home?" Yumiko asked.

"Seiichi wasn't at school today," Fuji said.

"Oh, that's the first time since you two have met," Yumiko said.

"Yeah," Fuji replied.

"But you haven't missed a day either," Yumiko pointed out.

Fuji laughed. "It's not really anything to brag about." He turned to Kagami and handed him his jacket back. "Thanks," he said.

"Any time. I'll see you tomorrow, Fuji, and make sure you call Yukimura." He said it, making Yumiko assume that it was because of Yukimura's absence from school, but both young tennis players knew that now, there were underlying reasons.

------------------------------

Fuji sat down on his bed and dialed Yukimura's number on the phone in his room. It rang twice, before Naruko picked it up. Fuji could tell it was her, because, despite how much True Light tried to disguise her voice in her different forms, there was something about it, maybe the gentleness of it (it was there, even in Sayaka's voice, though sometimes barely detectable) that gave it away.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi, this is Fuji Syusuke, may I speak to Seiichi?" he asked.

"Sure," she said without hesitation. She, as Fuji could tell, covered the phone with her hand and called up the stairs. He heard another phone being picked up.

"Hi, Syusuke," Yukimura said quietly.

"Hi, Seiichi. I'm guessing you were too sick to attend school today," Fuji said.

"You guessed right then. I'm very disappointed in myself; I was trying to survive Junior High without missing a day."

"Don't be," Fuji said. "It's better that you stayed home, anyway. Are you feeling any better?"

"Not really." Yukimura sighed. "My mother scheduled me to get a shot for the flu tomorrow. Though I'm not sure that it's really the flu, since I'm not sneezing or anything. I just have a really sore throat."

Those were the words that Fuji dreaded hearing. Yesterday evening, he had been bored, so he went to research the disease that had made Yukimura collapse in Fuji's past life. Websites on the Internet had said that Guillain-Barré syndrome usually occurred after a respiratory infection, or a viral infection, such as a _sore throat_. And in about 10 of all GBS cases occurred after a medical procedure. No one knows what causes it, though, and doctors diagnose it based on various symptoms.

Fuji didn't know whether it was inevitable for Yukimura to get GBS or not, but he could at least try to prevent it.

"Listen to me, Seiichi," Fuji said seriously. "Your mom isn't going to get your shot for the flu, but rather for respiratory syncytial virus infection, which is kind of strange, since you're over thirteen years old. Which is why I'm saying don't do it. You don't actually have infection; you just have a normal sore throat, or a minor respiratory infection. You'll get better in a few days, just rest well, and drink plenty of water and fluids. Whatever you do, DON'T GET THE SHOT."

"Why not?" Yukimura asked, more or less out of curiosity. He wasn't thinking about refusing Fuji's request, though, since when they revealed to each other that they were Returners, Fuji had said something about him having to undergo surgery for Guillain-Barré syndrome, and Fuji must've done his research to prevent this from happening.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Fuji said.

But before Fuji could hang up, Yukimura said, "Syusuke. Tell me now."

Fuji sighed. He couldn't refuse Yukimura's requests either, which was probably why Kagami thought together, they would make a good captain for the future. "No one knows exactly what causes Guillain-Barré syndrome, but about half of the cases occur after respiratory infections, whether they're minor or lethal. Also, about 10 percent of the cases occur after the victim has gone through a medical procedure of some kind. I don't know if you're still going to get it or not, but I just wanted to help as much as I could. I know you don't really need that shot, and I don't think that it will do anything to quicken your recovery, so I don't think you should be getting the shot."

"Oh," Yukimura said, nodding because Fuji had just confirmed his predictions.

"Please don't worry about it too much," Fuji said. "This was why I wasn't going to tell you until the day that your collapse had already passed."

"Ah, don't worry. I'm sure everything will turn out fine," Yukimura said pleasantly. "You did say that my surgery was a success, anyway. So I'm not going to die either way."

"But I just don't want to be away from you," Fuji said quietly. "And I don't want to take chances."

"Thank you," Yukimura said. "The weekends always seem to come when we need them the most."

Fuji nodded. "Yeah," he said. And sure enough, that day was a Friday, giving Yukimura two days of rest before he had to forfeit school days again.

* * *

Ooookay. So, you know how it says that it's November at the beginning of the chapter? So actually, in the real Prince of Tennis, Yukimura doesn't get the syndrome until winter, I think somewhere are January (I had to go to a Prince of Tennis timeline to figure that out). But I read the timeline wrong and thought it said November (NO, I did NOT get the words 'November' and 'January' mixed up; it's hard to explain). xD;; But like I said, it's not really going to change the story in any way. It's still kind of winter, you know? 

I had to go do so much research on that stupid Guillain-Barré syndrome! D; (Another reason it's stupid is because it made poor little Seiichi collapse -kicks syndrome-). But it made me do research on it! IN THE SUMMER! D; Why did Yukimura have to collapse because of such an obscure syndrome? D; I think, like, every 2 in 500000 people get it. Or something like that. D; (Do you THINK I'm going to remember? xD;;).

About the Yukimura and Fuji becoming captain together...when I was writing this, I was reading Death Note, and I couldn't resist (Near and Mello, anyone? Though I can't imagine Fuji and Mello being similar. But oh well). If you have no idea what I'm talking about. just ignore this. xD;;

Anyway, please review! And I left off on a kind-of cliffy! Sorry! D;


	9. Chapter 9

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

This is only two weeks from the last chapter. Kind of skips around, because, again, I only write about the important things. And this thing is _quiet_ important. xD;; Normally I love to write long author's notes, but this time, I don't know if I have anything to say. xD;; I'm doing pretty well with my other story that I've been telling you guys about. Now I know it's one I'm going to finish. I just stumbled over a couple days of writer's block, but now I'm back in the game. I can't wait until I finish it! Remember guys, it's RyoFuji and TezuFuji! Excited now? xD;;

**Chapter 9:**

Fuji Syusuke stood at the school gates, getting ready to walk home. Snow was again falling around him, piling up slowly but surely at his feet. Fuji had remembered to bring a heavier jacket today, and he pulled up the hood on his jacket, covering his almost freezing ears. Yukimura walked up to him.

"Hey," Fuji said. "How are you feeling?"

Yukimura sighed. "How many times have I told you? I'm fine."

Fuji nodded. "That's good to hear." The date was November 21, 2006. Two more days until the fourth Thursday in November, the day that Yukimura had collapsed. Fuji was glad that in his past life, he had asked Marui the exact time and day that the blue-haired boy had collapsed, so now, he could keep track of him.

Fuji had waited out almost two weeks of suspense, and Yukimura was showing no signs of GBS. But he learned that GBS was normally diagnosed two weeks after the first symptoms occurred, so he was waiting out the two weeks. He didn't plan to tell Yukimura the time and day; instead, he was going to tell him the day after, whether he collapsed or not.

Yukimura and Fuji started walking home through the snow. Fuji knew that Yukimura was one of those people that, like Fuji, sometimes cared for other people more than himself. Fuji knew that Yukimura could very well be lying, just to get Fuji off his back, or to stop worrying him. But as he looked at him, he looked fine. But the brunette didn't want to take chances. He knew the one person that Yukimura told everything to, and decided to ask her the next day after school the very same question.

Despite the strange appearance, Yukimura trusted her. Despite the headphones constantly draped around the neck and the long, old fashioned flowing dress rippling around the ankles, Yukimura trusted her. Despite the slightly un-kept black wavy hair sticking to her neck and constrained because of the headphones, Yukimura trusted her. And despite the strange patterned, colorful spaghetti straps she always wore, Yukimura trusted her. Yukimura trusted his sister, Naruko. And Fuji Syusuke knew this more than anyone.

He decided to drop Naruko a visit the next day, when he knew that Yukimura would be out for his piano class, Wednesdays at 5:15PM (1). Fuji knocked on the door, and in almost less than a second, it was opened by none other than the one Fuji had been pursuing.

"Fuji? What are you doing here?" Naruko asked.

"I just wanted to ask you something," he replied. "How is Seiichi doing?"

"What are you asking that?" she said in an almost annoyed voice, matching her personality. Fuji inwardly smirked. On guard and always alert, just like her brother.

"Just wondering."

She sighed. "He recovered from that sore throat almost two weeks ago. He should be perfectly fine. Why are you asking me and not him?"

Fuji smiled. The exact reply that he had predicted. "Seiichi's one of those people that, sometimes, cares about others more than himself. I figured that, since you were his sister and you are with him whenever I'm not, he would tell everything to you and he trusts you the most. Sometimes, he lies to get others to stop worrying about him, you know?"

Naruko looked at him with still a frown on her face. "Don't you do that, too?" she asked.

Fuji's eyes snapped open. He had not anticipated that reply from her. But inwardly, his smirk grew even wider as he thought of a counter that would surely touch a nerve. "Saa…I guess I do sometimes. But," he smiled, "how would you know that? I'm sure I never do it to Seiichi, and you're not around me enough to know."

Her expression looked shocked and slightly horrified at the same time. "That would be…" she started and trailed off.

"That would be…?"  
"I'm friends with your sister," she said finally.

Fuji nodded. "I understand that. Though," he remarked, "it is strange, since she's 22, almost 23, and you're barely 15 years old. Though I guess I could understand how you two could get along, I guess."

She nodded, as if assuming that if he figured it out himself; he would let the subject go. But Fuji was not about to do that. He smirked even wider inside, if that was possible.

Fuji looked at Naruko for a moment. "Now that I take a closer look at you," he said, "you look just like my older sister's best friend." He knew that they were the same person, but he also knew that she obviously didn't want him to know, nor did she know that he knew.

She blinked and the same expression that she had been wearing earlier appeared on her face momentarily, until Fuji spoke again.

"I must be just imagining things," he said. Enough talking for today, he thought. He was beginning to get cold, anyway, and Fuji needed to get home before Yukimura got back. And he knew that under no circumstances would Naruko let him into the house without a reason.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Fuji smiled. It didn't matter if he was arguing with a team member or True Light, the goddess of time travel; he could play anyone with words. It was almost torture debating with Fuji Syusuke. And that was just the way he intended it to be. "Thanks for the information. I'm glad to hear that Seiichi's really doing well," Fuji said. He waved to Naruko and turned around to leave. Then, he saw Yukimura walking up the path.

"Syusuke?" Yukimura said, eyeing him. "What are you doing here?"

Fuji smiled. "Taking care of unfinished business," he replied vaguely and walked away before the taller boy could question anymore.

----------------------------------

Naruko stepped aside to let her younger brother into the house absently. She didn't even know what to think at that moment. What had Fuji Syusuke just said? She knew he was perceptive, but not _that_ perceptive. Was he? Did he know about her being True Light? And Sayaka and Tamao?

How would he know? She hadn't let anything out. Had she? Now, instead of questioning Fuji's abilities, she was questioning her own. This had been the first time she had tried to be three True Lights in one dimension, and she thought that she had been doing quite well. But was she really up to the challenge? Did she miss something that she had let slip up? Or worse, did Yumiko tell them?

She decided to give the oldest Fuji sibling a call right away. She couldn't do it from Naruko's number, though, or else Fuji Syusuke might get suspicious of her. She let Naruko close the door to her room and take a nap, while True Light switched consciousnesses over to Tamao. She dialed Yumiko's cell phone number. How could Syusuke track that? She didn't want to take any chances.

"Hello?" Yumiko's voice said over the line.

"Yumiko, this is Tamao."

"Oh, hello. How are you? And how is your younger brother doing?" she asked.

Tamao slapped herself in the forehead in frustration. First of all, if Yumiko had said that and Syusuke had been listening, he would've been very apprehensive. Second of all, why was she asking?! Seiichi had recovered from his sore throat almost two weeks ago! Had Fuji Syusuke planned something? Tamao shook her head. She had to keep it in the game, and she couldn't start questioning herself again, or else she might let something slip.

"I'm fine," Tamao answered. "Seiichi's fine. Are you in a secure area?"

"Yeah," Yumiko said. "I'm in my room, why?"

Tamao breathed a sigh of relief. Good, she thought. At least she didn't have to worry about the younger sibling over hearing their conversation, _if he didn't already know about it_. She had to stop thinking like this. "We have talk about something. In a True Light to Returner way."

"Okay," Yumiko answered. "What is it that you have to ask?"

"Did you tell Seiichi and Syusuke about me?" she said. "More importantly, did you tell them about Naruko?"

"No," Yumiko answered firmly. "I didn't."

Tamao considered her friend's tone of voice and reaction speed for a moment. They were both normal. No rises in the pitch of her voice, and no forced answers. She didn't answer too quickly, nor did she hesitate. No signs of lying, Tamao thought. She could be hiding it, but Tamao deducted that impossible, since she had gone though enough human worlds to tell whether one was lying or not. But then again, Yumiko was of the Fuji family, a family strong at deception and manipulation, Tamao thought as she considered the younger brother. But right now, she was almost certain that Yumiko was not lying.

"That's good," she said.

"Why did you ask so suddenly?" Yumiko said. "The timing is kind of random, don't you think?"

"Yeah. I was just wondering," Tamao said, and hung up.

----------------------------------

On Yumiko's end of the phone, the Fuji sister heard the click of her friend hanging up. She still wondered why she asked. Yumiko had dealt with her younger brother enough to know when someone was evading a question. When you could tell when Fuji Syusuke was evading a question, you could tell when _anyone_ was evading a question. Had Syusuke or Yukimura let something slip? Because Yumiko was sure that she hadn't. Had she?

She considered this alternative for a moment. There was no way Syusuke or Yukimura could've let something slip unintentionally. They weren't those types of people. Those two were almost always on guard; the only people that they slipped up to were each other. Did Syusuke do something intentionally to show True Light that he was in control now? No, he wouldn't have done that unless he had been really mad at her, and why would he be mad?

At that moment, the front door opened, saving Yumiko from having to doubt herself. "Syusuke!" she shouted. "Why are you so late?" She ran down the stairs and greeted her younger brother at the door.

"I dropped Yukimura Naruko a visit," Fuji replied smoothly, knowing that his sister would interrogate him, and there was nothing he could do to get away from that. After all, she was his _sister_.

"Why?" she asked. She knew that it was the question that he had been expecting, yet she didn't really care.

"I had some unfinished business to take care of," he said and turned to ward the stairs. He set his foot down on the first step, but could not go any further, considering that Yumiko had taken a firm hold on his wrist.

"Too vague," she said coldly. "Tell me the full and complete answer."

Fuji sighed and stepped back down to be face to face with his older sister. Well, almost, considering that in height, he only reached her shoulders. "The day, in my past life, that Seiichi collapsed on the courts is soon approaching. In fact, it's tomorrow. I wanted to make sure that he was alright. I did some research on GBS, and I tried to help by preventing him from getting the shot that, in my mind, might've caused it. I've been asking him every day how he feels, but like me, he's one of those people that will lie to others to try to get them to stop worrying about him. And I wanted to make sure he was telling the truth, so I paid a visit to Naruko, because I figured that he told her more than he told me," Fuji explained.

This time, it was Yumiko's turn to sigh. "Syusuke, if he really trusts you, then he would not tell Naruko more than he tells you."

"The thing is," Fuji said, "is that I know how similar he and I are, and I know that I would do the same thing."

"You would tell me more than you would tell him?" Yumiko asked with mild surprise.

"No; I meant that I would tell him I was fine even if I wasn't to try to stop him from worrying."

"Syusuke, that doesn't matter, though. That's not what we're talking about. I'm saying that if he doesn't tell you the truth, he didn't tell anyone the truth."

Fuji looked up at Yumiko. "You sure?"

Yumiko smiled. "Trust me. You two love each other, and you and Naruko are the most important people in his life. He's not going to tell her more than he tells you. If anything, he would tell you two the same thing, if he doesn't tell _you_ more."

"Thanks, sis," Fuji said. He couldn't remember how many times he had said that to her.

----------------------------------

Fuji sat up in his bed alertly. There was something about this day that was _deathly _important. He looked around the room and his eyes rested on a picture of Yukimura and him. Oh, right, Fuji thought. Today was the day. The day had finally come. The day that Yukimura had collapsed.

Fuji hopped out of bed and appeared as cheerful as ever when his sister handed him his breakfast. Despite that, she said, "Something wrong, Syusuke?"

"Nope," he lied. She looked at him skeptically. "Why do you ask?"

"Because your cheer today seems kind of…fake," she replied. "Oh well. I guess it's just me. Hurry along now; you'll be late for school."

Fuji looked at the clock. Indeed, it was almost time to leave. "Thanks for breakfast, sis," he said and ran out the door into the cold winter air outside.

Yumiko looked at his retreating back thoughtfully. "Oh, right," she said, to no one in particular. "I hope Seiichi will be alright today."

It wasn't a particularly difficult feat for Fuji Syusuke to follow Yukimura Seiichi around the school that day, since they had all the same classes and the exact same schedule. It was just another one of those lucky things that they had found out when they had first met each other last year. Fuji kept a watchful eye on his friend for the whole day, though he knew the exact time that Yukimura had collapsed. _12:37PM, on November 23, 2007, _Marui had said in Fuji's past life. That was between his lunch and his next class. _He collapsed in the hallway after gathering his stuff after lunch._ Interesting, Fuji thought. Very interesting.

Fuji absentmindedly picked at his food. "Syusuke, are you okay?" Yukimura said, staring at him. Marui looked at him, too, and so did the other tennis players who sat at their table at lunch.  
"Not _another_ sick one," Kagami said. "And this time, it's Fuji, too."

"Ah, no, I'm fine," Fuji replied. "Just thinking about something."

"Ooh, suuuuure, that's what _everyone_ says," Marui said, rolling his eyes. "Before they suddenly come down with a lethal virus that makes them shrivel into dark, powdery ashes right in front of their loved ones."

Everyone looked at him. "Marui, I think you've been reading too much science fiction," Yukimura said. They all laughed.

"What? Reading is good for you!" Marui said. Fuji remained silent, narrowly escaping questioning from Yukimura and/or Kagami.

"Syusuke." Never mind, Fuji thought. "What were you thinking about?" both Kagami and Yukimura said.

Fuji bit his lip, but right then, the bell rang for the next class. Fuji looked at the clock on the wall of the cafeteria. 12:35 and 48 seconds. Almost time, Fuji thought. He got up, as well as the rest of the table. They all threw away their stuff and walked over to the hallway. In the rush, Fuji still managed to stay by Yukimura's side. He picked up his stuff from the shelves just outside the cafeteria, and looked at the other clock hanging outside the office. 12:36, 52 seconds. Eight more seconds, Fuji thought.

12:36:53.

They took a couple of steps.

12:36:54.

Fuji walked slowly and Yukimura walked beside him, looking at him.

55.

"Why are you walking so slowly?" Yukimura asked.

56.

"I just want to keep an eye on the clock," Fuji said.

57.

"Why? You've never been late," Yukimura said.

58.

Fuji had no reply.

59.

"Syusuke, answer me!"

12:37:00! Yukimura picked up his stuff and suddenly stumbled. Fuji immediately reached out his arms to catch him, since he never used the shelves, but Yukimura caught himself with his other foot. He looked down.

"How inconvenient," he said. "Someone dropped their calculator. We should go turn it in to the Lost and Found. The office is right there, anyway."

Fuji nodded. "Yeah." That was close, he thought. He decided to wait for a bit longer before deciding if everything was alright or not. He followed the blue-haired boy into the office and to their next class. It had been well over a minute already, and there was nothing happening.

Yukimura looked down at him. "Is there a reason you're staring at me so intently?" he asked.

Fuji smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "No."

* * *

Most of you are probably cheering! I would be. Yukimura's safe and well! I'd be so happy if I were reading this fic, because who_ doesn't_ like Seiichi:D

Oh yeah, before I forget. (1): 5:15 on Wednesdays is when I have my piano class. Which is why I decided to make that the time Seiichi takes it. No clue if he really plays piano or not. It was just something I included for the sake of the story.

Have any of you noticed that time passes rather strangely in this story? xD;; Fuji spend almost and hour talking to Naruko, though their conversation was relatively short. Oh well, guess I'm just too lazy to write more. And it would've gotten kind of awkward, anyway (not that it wasn't already!). xD;;

Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

Okay, so Yukimura's fine now. No illness or anything. This chapter is pretty lighthearted, too, which is good. I wouldn't consider it humor (well, actually some parts in this chapter are quite humorous (like Yukimura acting OOC), but whatever), but it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I read it over. And a lot of you like that, because that, my friends, is defined as FLUFF:'D It's still winter, by the way.

And another by the way for you: You'll notice that whenever Fuji's around Yumiko, I call him Syusuke. And whenever Yukimura's around Naruko, he's Seiichi. I'd like to stay consistent, but it feels awkward referring to Syusuke as 'Fuji' when he's around Yumiko, because Yumiko's last name is Fuji, too. And it's the same way with Seiichi and Naruko. But it shouldn't be that big of a deal to you guys. xD;;

Please read, review, and enjoy!

**Chapter 10:**

One snowy (like always) February afternoon, Yukimura and Fuji were sitting on the roof of Rikkaidai. It was after school, and the snow had just started to fall around them. A lot of snow was falling, but it wasn't hard, nor was the wind blowing. Fuji was lying on his back with his arms behind his head in the snow, and Yukimura was sitting next to him.

But this wasn't any Wednesday in February. It was Wednesday, February 28, the day before Fuji Syusuke's birthday. And Yukimura didn't know that, since Fuji didn't tell him, and no one knew except for Fuji's family. Fuji didn't know why he didn't tell Yukimura, he just didn't. He figured he should tell him now.

"Seiichi, do you know what day it is?" Fuji asked. He didn't know why he asked, because Yukimura obviously wouldn't know.

"February 28?" Yukimura said.

"Yeah." Fuji turned so that he was facing Yukimura. Or Yukimura's knee, since he was lying down. "Tomorrow is my birthday."

Yukimura almost jumped in the air. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Yukimura asked loudly. Which was very un-Yukimura-like.

"I don't know," Fuji said.

"So your birthday is March 1?"

"Nope," Fuji said.

Yukimura looked at him with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean? You just said today was February 28."

"Yeah."

"And tomorrow is March 1."

"Yep."

"And your birthday is tomorrow."

"Mhm."

"So your birthday is March 1," Yukimura concluded.

But much to his surprise, again, Fuji said, "Nope."

Yukimura stared at him. But then, his wide eyes narrowed to their normal size again. "Oh," he said.

"Yeah, now you get it," Fuji said.

"What luck," Yukimura said. "To be a leap-year baby."

"You call that luck?" Fuji said. "I only get to celebrate my true birthday every four years! And this year isn't one of those years. Even though on the non-leap years, March 1 is technically my birthday, it's still not the same." He rolled over so that he was facing away from Yukimura.

The blue-haired boy's only reply was, "Hn." He grabbed Fuji's shoulder and turned him so that he was on his back again. He helped him up. "We should get going now."

"Yeah," Fuji agreed.

"I'll walk you home," Yukimura said.

"What?" Fuji said. "You have piano class today."

"Don't worry. That can wait. Come on." He led Fuji to the school gates. "We'll take the scenic route." He smiled at Fuji, who couldn't resist smiling back.

-----------------------------

"Naruko!" Yukimura shouted as soon as he entered his own house.

"Where were you?! You're going to be late for piano class!" Naruko shouted back. This was much like a normal conversation in the Yukimura household, despite how quiet Seiichi's voice normally was.

"I'm not going today," was Seiichi's reply. "I have something to do. And I need your help!"

"What could be more important than piano class?! You're amazing at piano!" Naruko shouted. Yes, they were still screaming at each other, even though they were standing right in front of each other.

"Tomorrow is Syusuke's birthday! I have to get something for him! And I only have tonight!!" Seiichi shouted. They normally shouted when their parents weren't home since, even though they meant the world to each other, they had many disagreements. And neither of them wanted to give up on their argument.

"So his birthday is March 1?" Naruko said.

"No. His birthday is February 29," Seiichi replied.

"Ooooh, no wonder you want to make it special." Naruko was smiling now. "Then come. We'll reschedule your piano, and we'll think of something for Syusuke."

They went to Seiichi's room. Seiichi seated himself on his bed, and Naruko sat on the chair at his desk. "What is Syusuke?" she asked.

"A human?" Seiichi replied, looking at her questioningly.

She rolled her eyes. "This is going to be a long night," she muttered. "What his he _to you_?!"

"My boyfriend?" he said uncertainly again.

"Okay…" she thought for a moment. "Does he like flowers?"

"I've given him flowers before."

"Those were flowers of _apology_!" she said. "These ones will be different. We'll give him flowers. But there should be more. What else is he?"

Seiichi thought about how his sister would interpret the question. "A tennis player, a photographer, and artist, and a genius," he said.

"_Now_ you're getting it," she said. "Tennis player…does he want anything to help with his tennis? A racquet perhaps? A glove? Hat? New grip tape?"

"He wants a racquet…let me think…I think he wants the Prince O3 Speedport racquet…in blue," Seiichi said. "But it's so expensive. I can't afford it, and I can't make enough in one night."

Naruko thought for a moment. "Hmm…this might be a problem…" she said, trailing off as if she were still thinking. "But anyway. Photographer?"

"Lenses, cameras, tripods, they're all even more expensive than the racquet. And he has plenty of flash units."

"Well, that's not an option, then," Naruko said.

"No, it's not," Seiichi said.

"Let's go back to the tennis idea, since you know more about tennis than photography. How about you get him tennis balls?"

"He has a ton of tennis balls! Why would he need more!"

"Make them personalized. Color them blue and write your name on them or something."

Yukimura thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess that'll do," he said. "But I kind of feel bad about not knowing it until now."

"What do you have to feel bad about? He's the one that didn't tell you until now, anyway," Naruko replied.

"That is true, but…"

"But what?"

Seiichi sighed. "Nothing."

"Come on! Tell me," Naruko pleaded.

"He's done so much for me," Seiichi said. "He saved me from a surgery. We're going to be captains of Rikkaidai next year. Isn't it strange to just give him flowers and tennis balls in return? I want to give him something special."

"Listen. Just the fact that you decided to give him something will delight him to no end. You know that. It may be small, but it's full of love. And both of you will know that. With the way Syusuke is, he'll just be grateful that you decided to make his birthday special. Don't worry about it too much."

"Okay," Seiichi said, still uncertainly. Naruko then left the room.

-----------------------------

She leaned her back against the closed door. She didn't like to see her brother so troubled with things, but what could she do to help? She knew Seiichi wanted to make Syusuke's birthday special, but she had done all she could to help. Or did she?

Naruko thought for a moment. She knew that her brother had known a lot about Syusuke's wanted tennis racquet. But he had also told her that Syusuke wanted a lens. It would be slightly awkward if Seiichi were to give Syusuke a lens, though, since he didn't know exactly which one the brunette wanted. Also, Seiichi didn't know that much about photography, but he knew a lot about tennis. She wanted to get that Speedport for him to give to Syusuke, but how?

She smiled. Oh yeah, she thought. I can switch bodies in this world. All of my forms are in the same world, and in the same country. Which means that the money that one had could be given to the others. Now which of her forms could afford a tennis racquet? Not this one. Tamao had her own interests. Sayaka…Sayaka! She could get money from Sayaka's parents, and tell them that she had taken up a sudden interest in tennis. They believed everything, anyway. Humans were so naïve.

-----------------------------

Yukimura Seiichi woke up to the sound of snow, ice, and sleet against the windows. The wind outside was howling. It felt strange to think this, but the _ice_ was coming down in _torrents_ against the roof. He yawned. Did he _really_ have to go to school today? He sat up. Of course. He had already missed one day of school, and missing more would just mean that Syusuke would be ahead of him even more. He smiled. Friends and rivals, that was what they were.

The two boys were always in a constant struggle to be at the top of the class. In class debates, they were always the last two arguing, with each other, of course. In art, they each wanted to have their own art in the gallery. They were always vying to have the highest score on a test. In PE, they were almost always on different teams (when they were on the same team, that team usually dominated). And in the tennis club, people discussed who the stronger player was.

He felt something lying across his blanket. It was a box, about the size of a tennis racquet…? On it was a post-it note that said, _Seiichi, this is Syusuke's birthday present. I know it's the exact racquet you described, so you don't have to open it. Just wrap it and give it to him. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed. Love, Naruko. _How? Naruko _was_ True Light, but the last time he checked, money didn't grow on trees, even in the god's and goddess's realm. It had to be Sayaka, he concluded. He knew, from what Syusuke said, she was rich, and she seemed like the kind of person that got anything she wanted from her parents. Of course, she got the money and ordered it, and then gave it to him as Naruko.

He smiled. Thanks, Naruko, he thought. Thanks a lot. Today, Seiichi was going to present Syusuke with something that even the genius couldn't predict. But that would have to wait until after school. Right now, he had to get dressed and wait for Yumiko's red car to pull up in his driveway to pick him up for school. He threw on a thick, waterproof jacket with a hood and waited by the doorway for the car to come. In almost a moment, it was there, with Syusuke and Yumiko waiting for him.

He walked out of the house into the nasty February weather outside. He pulled his jacket tighter around him. Syusuke opened the door for him as he approached the car, and he nodded in thanks. He sat down in the car and slammed the door shut, desperate to get the thunderous wind out of his ears.

The car was quiet, compared to outside. He couldn't believe that they actually had school today. Now, what was he going to ask Yumiko? Oh, right. "Hey, Yumiko," he said.

"Yes?"

"Can you drop Syusuke and I off at my mouse today after school?" he asked. Syusuke gave him a questioning look.

She nodded. "Sure thing, Seiichi. Why, got something to work on?"

He smiled. He didn't want to give it away to Syusuke. "Yeah, something like that." Yumiko got the hint, nodded, and went silent. Syusuke kept looking at him, almost begging Seiichi to tell him, but the taller boy only smiled back.

-----------------------------

The day went by in a flash, and the boys spent most of the day in classes, staring outside at the falling snow and ice. Teachers would call on them, and they would answer back correctly, without even turning away from the windows. Teachers would get annoyed by their cocky attitudes, but they had their charming smiles. Not many boys were born beautiful, anyway (well, maybe in the Tenipuri world, they were).

In no time, they were seated on Yukimura's bed, Fuji toying with the little tassles at the ends of his blanket. "Why are we here?" he asked.

Yukimura smiled. "You'll see." He bent back and reached under his bed. He pulled out the two presents and flowers and gave them to Fuji. "Happy birthday," he said.

Fuji looked at him, then at the flowers. "Thank you," he said, putting the flowers aside and staring at one cylindrically shaped present, and one quite large box, both wrapped in blue paper and tied together with a silver ribbon.

"Go ahead, open them," Yukimura said and gestured with his hands and the present. Fuji carefully tore the wrapping paper for the cylindrical one, and found a can of tennis balls. _Blue_ tennis balls. Blue tennis balls with something different written on each of them. He pulled them out of the transparent plastic can. The first one said, "Captain: Yukimura Seiichi; Co-captain: Fuji Syusuke." Fuji glared and Yukimura, who smiled and told him to read the next one. "Just kidding. ;D" And the last one said, "Or am I?"

Fuji laughed and rested his head in Yukimura's lap. "What if people pick up the first one and read it without knowing that there was a second one?"

Yukimura shrugged. "That's their problem, then. Well, actually, it would be _your_ problem."

Fuji glared playfully up at him. "Why you—"

"There's one more present," Yukimura gently reminded him, firmly pinning his shoulders down and handing him the gift.

Fuji tore off the wrapping paper and found a cardboard box. "Well, this is quite plain," he said, though he knew that there was clearly something inside. Yukimura crossed his arms. "Kidding," Fuji said. "Or am I?" he said, with a mischievous glint in his blue eyes.

Yukimura sighed. "Just shut up and open it."

Fuji smiled and used his excessively long nail (1) to rip the tape and open the box. He pulled out sheets of bubble wrap and felt something waterproof. He pulled out a Prince Racquet bag (2). "No," he said. "It can't be…" He sat up and quickly unzipped the bag and pulled out the racquet of his dreams: the Prince Speedport Blue Racquet, from Prince's newest line of racquets. Fuji looked back at Yukimura, who was smiling at him. "How did you get this?" he asked.

"Thank Naruko," Yukimura said.

Fuji smirked slyly at him. "So this is just a present from True Light, then," he said, knowing that there was no way Naruko could earn that much money in one night.

"Hey, I told her what racquet you wanted," Yukimura teasingly reprimanded.

Fuji laughed. "Acceptable enough," he said, and let himself be pulled in for a kiss. To him, it didn't matter that today wasn't February 29. It was still the best birthday of his life.

* * *

Awww! So cute! xDDDD Aren't they just adorable?! Why can't other people write YukiFuji fics so that Yukimura is the gentle, loving, caring boyfriend that he is in my fics? xD;; It's like...when I read YukiFuji, it's always, like, torture or something! D; Don't worry, Seiichi! We know you love Syusuke!

By the way, the Prince O3 line of racquets are real. And they're pretty expensive. Checked on TennisWarehouse, and the blue one is $270. D; I've always wanted to try one, but never got the chance. I would've made Syusuke want my Wilson nCode racquet, but he uses Prince now, and I don't want to change that. :'D

(1): Again, for the sake of the story, Fuji has long nails. I didn't feel like making him get up and get a knife or something. Their pose was just too cute. :D

(2): I've only ordered Wilson racquets in my life, so I'm not sure if Prince racquets come with bags or not. They probably do, though.

Please review!


	11. Chapter 11

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

Last chapter was Syusuke's birthday, and this chapter is...guess:D Okay, REALLY short beginning author's note this time. Let's get on with the story! Read, review, and enjoy!

**Chapter 11:**

Fuji Syusuke eyed the giant clock above the front door of Rikkaidai warily. Still an hour until classes started. Why had he come so early again? Oh yeah; Yukimura had said that he wanted to tell him something.

Fuji scowled; a rare sight to see from Fuji Syusuke. Here he was, standing there, freezing his butt off, though all the snow had melted, waiting for Yukimura, and he was late. It was not like Yukimura to be late. Today was Monday, March 5. Yes, all the snow and ice from Fuji's birthday, March 1, had already melted. Fuji had worn a light jacket that day, expecting it to be warm, and it was warmer than February had been, but not warm enough for Fuji's jacket to withstand. And now he was standing here, in front of the school gates, cranky, impatient, and freezing his butt off.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, though in reality, only a couple of drawn out minutes, footsteps were heard from behind Fuji. He turned around to face Yukimura. "Finally, you're here," Fuji said, with the slightest hint of annoyance in his voice, but still detectable. "What did you want to tell me?" Yukimura smiled.

Yukimura had decided that he had to give Fuji a challenge. Today, March 5, was _his_ birthday, and like the smaller boy, he had not told anyone either. Fuji had tortured him by giving him his birthday only a day in advance. But Fuji Syusuke could one-up that, right? Yukimura thought. What would the genius come up with as a gift, if Yukimura told Fuji his birthday on the morning of that day? He decided to test his theory out. And Fuji was irritated now. Perfect.

"Oh, nothing much," Yukimura said, pretending to have suddenly taken a strong interest in his nails. Fuji Syusuke could handle this challenge. Yukimura had no doubt about that. He was just curious to find out _how_.

Fuji resisted the urge to grab his collar and shake him senseless. Or maybe strangle him on the spot. One could not tell just by looking at him. "Then why did you call me out here so early?" he asked, his voice slightly higher pitch than normal, usually indicating that he was thoroughly pissed.

"Ah," Yukimura said, pausing dramatically after that. "I remember now. Syusuke, do you know what day it is?"

"March 5," was the automatic reply.

"As sharp as ever, I see," Yukimura said.

Fuji sighed. "Don't tell me that it's your birthday today."

Yukimura smiled. "You took the words right out of my mouth." And with that, he left Fuji standing there, now pissed, cold, _and _troubled, and walked the direction of the school's front doors. That should take care of that, Yukimura thought.

------------------------------

It was a challenge, huh? Fuji thought. Yukimura wanted to _challenge_ him by giving him his birthday on that day. To tell the truth, Fuji never meant to "challenge" Yukimura by giving him his birthday a day in advance. The blue-haired boy had just taken it that way. Fuji sighed. That's so much like him. And now he was paying the price for something he had never initiated in the first place. Either this day was going to be very long, or it would go by too fast for Fuji.

"Fuji Syusuke? What are you doing here so early?" a voice said from behind Fuji, who turned around.

"Captain Kagami," Fuji acknowledged. "There's…no reason," he said. Kagami knew he was lying, but he didn't want to push Fuji into telling the truth.

"Well, don't be so glum…or pissed, for that matter," the captain said. He grinned. A grin from any other person would usually annoy the shit out of Fuji at that moment (even Marui), but something about Kagami's smile had a light gentleness and understanding to it, and also playfulness. "It's my birthday today!"

Fuji looked at him, shocked. "You're kidding," he said.

"Nope," Kagami said. "March 5, my birthday, the day that comes once a year. I turn 15 today."

Fuji inwardly sighed but outwardly smiled. "Happy birthday," he said, but inside, he was wishing that the captain _was_ kidding. Two birthday gifts to take care of. _Great._

Kagami ruffled Fuji's hair playfully and led him inside the school, with his hand on the smaller boy's back.

"Wait, are we allowed in this early in the morning?" Fuji asked, looking up at the captain.

"They'll let us in," Kagami replied confidently. "I'm the student body president. From now until we get inside, I officially have 'some work to do'."

Fuji laughed. "Alright."

------------------------------

Yukimura watched as Fuji was led into the school by none other than the current captain of the tennis team, Kagami Chuugo. He gripped the corner of the gate. What the hell?! This was supposed to be _his_ day with Fuji, not Kagami's. And now, fate had to come in and pronounce this to be Kagami's birthday, too.

Yukimura had only been watching because he wanted to see Fuji's reaction to the news, but then Kagami had come along and ruined his fun. What was he feeling here? _Jealousy_. The word rang in his mind. He wasn't familiar with it, because no one had dared touch Fuji, as long as Yukimura was around (besides the incident with Marui, but that didn't count). But here was Kagami, walking in, thinking he had every right. Which, actually, he did, because he held a higher position of authority than Yukimura, being student body president and captain of the tennis team of Rikkaidai.

Okay, so maybe Yukimura was jumping to conclusions here, but he didn't know how to deal with jealousy, so he let it wander in his mind. There was _no way_ that he was going to lose Fuji. He didn't care if Kagami really liked him or not.

------------------------------

Fuji sighed and stared out the window of the quiet classroom. This was his last class of the day, and they had a pop quiz. Fuji had finished it, of course, and now he was idly staring, trying to think. Of what, you ask. He was still trying to think of a gift for Yukimura, and Kagami, for that matter.

Yukimura's gift had been extravagant. According to his own assumption an intuition, Yukimura was challenging him to think of something even better in even less of a time frame. And Fuji was supposed to be able to do that…how? Oh, right, he was a genius. Fuji rubbed his temples. Well, even geniuses have limits.

But limits were there to be broken. His hands curled into fists and were set down on the desk. He couldn't give up. "Fuji, are you done?" the teacher asked. She was standing to the right of his desk, her hand outstretched for the test.

"Yeah," he said, handing her the desired item and smiling. The girls in the class fainted. Fuji went back to staring out the window. Suddenly, a bird, a swallow in particular, fluttered across the windowpane. Swallows were Fuji's favorite bird. He looked at the school tennis courts. Dry. Perfect. He smiled to himself. He had a plan, and it might actually work.

He sighed. As long as Yukimura and Kagami weren't going to be at each other's throats. And that was a high possibility, actually. Oh well. Risks were meant to be taken, and he had no other choice, Fuji though, as he picked up his tennis racquet and headed outside into the now warm spring weather.

"Kagamiiii!" Fuji shouted as he ran up to the captain. "I have your birthday present ready!"

"Hmm?" the captain said, turning around. "So quickly?"

"What did you expect?" Fuji said. "I'm Fuji Syusuke."

The captain laughed. "That's true."

"Bring your tennis stuff," Fuji said. "I'm going to the courts. I'll meet you there!"

"Okay," Kagami replied.

Fuji walked off swiftly to the Rikkaidai tennis courts, where Yukimura was waiting for him. He told neither of them that the other was coming. He wanted to see their reactions, but at the same time, he didn't. He predicted that Kagami wouldn't really have a reaction other than a smile and a simple 'hi' or something. But Yukimura might be another story. Though he was normally very cool and composed, he had seen the blue haired boy's conversations with his sister. _Explosive_ conversations with his sister. Yes, Fuji Syusuke had seen it all.

"Hey, Syusuke," Yukimura said. "What did you bring me here for?"

"First of all, it's a perfect way to test out my new racquet," Fuji said, smiling and shifting the racquet strings. "Second of all, it's your birthday present!"

"Second of all?" Yukimura said, rolling his eyes playfully.

"Kidding," Fuji said.

Just then, Kagami stepped onto the courts. Here's the moment of truth, Fuji thought and took a deep breath. "Oh, Kagami, you're here," Fuji said. He turned back to Yukimura. "Seiichi, did you know today is Kagami's birthday, too?"

"No, I didn't," Yukimura lied and faked a smile. "Happy birthday."

"Happy birthday to you, too," Kagami said, grinning. Except this grin was _real_.

Fuji suppressed a cough. He wondered how this would turn out. "I'm sure you'll be happy about this," he said, eyeing both boys. "I've created a different present for each of you."

"In a day?" Yukimura said, surprised.

"Yes," Fuji said, smiling at him. "In a day." The wind suddenly started to pick up. "Ah, the wind. Nice breeze, and perfect timing." He walked on to court A. "Seiichi, I will show you your present first," he said. He knew that this was the right choice, because Kagami honestly wouldn't care, but Yukimura would. Yukimura nodded and walked on to the opposing side of the court. Fuji fed the first ball. "Nice tension," he said.

Yukimura returned it normally, with almost no spin. Fuji sighed. This wasn't going to work if Yukimura was going to keep returning like _that_. Fuji hit a ball with heavy topspin. That was easy to hit with that racquet, because the strings were pulled tight. As predicted, Yukimura returned with topspin, too. Fuji smiled. Perfect.

"Seiichi," he called from the baseline. "This move is for you," he said as the ball came toward him and he positioned himself. "I call it the 'Tsubame Gaeshi'!" He hit the ball with heavy backspin/slice and then brought his racquet back up over his shoulder. The ball curved down slightly, but, as if it were being pulled by his racquet, drifted back up again. It flew over the net by about three centimeters and dropped down on the service line.

Yukimura was thinking, what's so special about that move? But then he saw it. As the ball his the ground, instead of bouncing up, or even bouncing low as he expected it to, it just rolled across the court and into the back fence. "Happy birthday, Seiichi," Fuji said.

"When would you have used it if you hadn't showed it to me, first?" Yukimura asked.

Fuji shrugged. "When the time called for it. I probably wouldn't have used it until next year, at the best. Maybe in the Nationals, if any of the opposing schools have gotten better."

"How graceful, Fuji," Kagami commented, standing on court B, watching. "A beautiful move. I wish you would've used it more when I was around."

Fuji winked. "But remember, I only came up with it today," he said slyly.

"Right," Yukimura said.

"Kagami, time for your present," Fuji said.

"Well, now I have s slight idea about what it is," Kagami said.

"Right, but you don't know the move." Fuji flipped his hair in the wind and walked back to the baseline again. "Nice breeze," he repeated and fed another ball. Kagami returned it normally again, but Fuji didn't need spin to hit this shot. He just needed Kagami to be at the net, and he needed the wind. He hit the ball short, just short enough to be getable, but short enough to lure Kagami to the net. Kagami hit it back, and Fuji smiled again. Perfect. Again.

"Captain Kagami," he said, as the ball came toward him. "This is for you. I call this move 'Hakugei'." He hit a lob straight toward Kagami with such extreme backspin that when it approached the net, it curved high into the air.

"It hopped," Kagami commented. "It's going out."

"Do not be so skeptical," Fuji replied, opening his eyes and smirking. "Oh, and you might want to watch your head."

Kagami ducked from impulse just as the ball came whizzing past his head and onto Fuji's court again. Fuji caught it with his left hand. "Hakugei," he repeated. His eyes closed again and he smiled. "Happy birthday, Captain Kagami."

He turned once again to Yukimura. "Impressive," was his only reply. Fuji took his outstretched hand. "Shall we get going?" Yukimura said.

"We shall," Fuji answered. "Good night, Kagami."

The captain looked at Yukimura and Fuji's retreating backs. You two will be excellent captains together, he thought. Rikkaidai will surely continue its winning streak with you in charge. "He smiled. I wish I could've seen those moves more often, though." Kagami sighed. "Fuji, the sleeping lion in you needs to be awakened."

------------------------------

Yukimura walked with Fuji hand in hand back to Fuji's house. "You were with Kagami this morning, weren't you?" he asked.

Fuji smiled at him. "I thought I told you not to spy on me."

"Needed to see your reaction to my oh-so-wonderful news."

"I understand."

"What did you two talk about?"

Fuji chuckled. "Seiichi," he said, leaning his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. "You don't have to worry about us. He's a friend, an important figure, and a good role model. But I don't like him more than a friend." He turned his head up so that he was face to face with Yukimura. "You're the one I love most. You know that and you can be sure about it."

Yukimura leaned down. "Good. Because you belong to me, and only me," he whispered.

"I'm all yours, Seiichi," Fuji agreed.

Yukimura leaned down even further to plant a firm but far too quick kiss on Fuji's lips. Fuji trailed a hand down the front of Yukimura's shirt. "You're such a tease, Seiichi," he murmured.

"Learn to get used to it," Yukimura replied smoothly but softly.

"I'm not sure if I can." And with those words, Fuji was swept up, almost off his feet when Yukimura wrapped his arms around Fuji's waist and pulled him in for another kiss; this time a much deeper one. Fuji melted into the kiss fully when he knew that Yukimura wasn't going to pull away any time soon.

* * *

Awww! So cute! I feel like a dork praising my own stories. D: But Seiichi and Syusuke! KYAAAAAAA! xD Okay, so if you're wondering how I imagined Kagami to look, kind of picture Mikami Teru from Death Note, except with a Saeki-like personality. For those of you that don't know DN, picture Oshitari's hair, except black, and it's smoother and kind of wraps around the outline of his face and ends at the shoulders. Not sure if you get what I mean, and if you don't, then imagine Kagami any way you want. He's supposed to be really good-looking, though. :D

So yeah. Tsubame Gaeshi and Hakugei were invented. Horray! For those of you that remembered the chapter with the doubles match between Marui Yukimura and Akutagawa Fuji, Fuji kind of used a simple version of the Higuma Otoshi there when he returned someone's smash head on, except he was facing forward. So that's why I decided to use the two other counters.

Anyway, please review?


	12. Chapter 12

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

Okay. Uh...sadly, we are nearing the end of the story. Well, perhaps happily, too, since you probably want to know what happens in the end! But sadly, because this story is almost over. But anyway, I'm still working on my other story, which I think many of you will enjoy, if you're a TezuFuji or RyoFuji fan! I'm almost done with it (and Yukimura's in it, too, and Saeki), and I think many of you will like it, if you liked this story, and also Painless. I skipped a bunch of time for this chapter, too, because I don't want the story to move too slowly.

An authors note from me. In the middle of this chapter, if you look closely, you will see two slash marks (this-- / ). Everything inside the marks is made up, because at the time, the chapters for this section of the story weren't released yet, so I didn't know who played who, who won, etc. So everything inside the slash marks is made up, but I'm pretty sure everything else is accurate.

**Chapter 12:**

Fuji sat quietly in the grass outside his front door, staring at the puffy white cumulus clouds that floated across the blue sky. Today was August 14, 2008. Tomorrow was the morning that he would have to leave and travel to the future. His thoughts? Well, he didn't really have any, other than that he hoped for the best.

Kagami had graduated the summer of last year, and had already finished his first year in high school, where Fuji was supposed to be headed this year. But not this time, he thought. This time, he would be skipping high school and college, and everything in between for the sake of this world, and for the sake of his own survival.

Kagami's graduation had been a big event. One of the things the captain had to do on his graduation day was name his successor. Or successors, for that matter. But no one on the tennis team knew that there were going to be two captains. A lot of people on the team were arguing with each other on that day whether they thought the successor would be Yukimura or Fuji, and the two being argued about could only smile at each other and shrug. Even the regulars that were in Yukimura and Fuji's grade were wondering (that being Marui, Sanada, and Yanagi). When Kagami finally announced that it was to be Yukimura _and_ Fuji, there was a loud applause. Everyone was pleased. Some were happy that their two favorite regulars were going to be captain together, some were happy because Yukimura and Fuji were the two strongest players out of their year and would surely lead them to victory, and some were pleased simply because they wanted the fighting to stop.

Kagami had graduated, and there was a warm goodbye between him and the regulars, especially Yukimura and Fuji. He had told them never to let go of their tennis abilities, and he wanted to see one of the two as professionals one day. Maybe they would get a chance to play in the future, he had said. Yukimura and Fuji had just looked at each other and nodded. Fuji still saw him sometimes on the streets or the courts, playing with his siblings or the other high school team members, who he was clearly the best out of. They would say hi to each other occasionally.

The third year had been very exciting for Yukimura and Fuji. Of course, they continued to pass all their classes with flying colors. Their art pieces were always chosen for the 'gallery', and were always submitted to national art contests. They continued to stay at the top of their classes together, and they always had the exact same grade on tests and homework: 100. No one knew who was smarter, Yukimura or Fuji.

The two captains led the team to the Kantou Tournament, of course, flying through the Kanagawa Preliminaries (1). They defeated Seishun Gakuen, who had lost to Hyotei Gakuen last year, but of course, Rikkaidai had also beaten Hyotei last year. Rikkaidai had also won the Kantou and National tournaments in Yukimura and Fuji's first year, but then, they had been playing doubles together as Rikkaidai's No.1 Doubles team. Last year, Yukimura and Fuji switched on and off for the two remaining Singles spots, since Kagami always played Singles 1. This year, Fuji and Yukimura switched off for the Singles 1 position, and Sanada always played in Singles 3. And of course, they blew through the Kantou tournament.

Rikkai Dai Fuzoku, Seishun Gakuen, Hyotei Gakuen, Fudomine and Rokkaku had qualified for the National Tournament, which, when Fuji saw the qualifications, made him smile, because everything was exactly as it was in his past life, except for the fact that Rikkaidai had beaten Seishun this time. Did Seigaku really need him that much? Fuji smirked. Also, the fact that Yukimura was healthy contributed to their win.

In the National tournament, the draws were also exactly the same, but it was more interesting for Fuji, because of course, Rikkaidai was on the right side of the draw, and Seishun was on the left. Therefore, Fuji would get to play new opponents. They first played an easy school, Muri ga Oka from Aichi. Then they went on to defeat Kabuto of Nara. Their most challenging match so far was against Nagoya Seitoku of Aichi in the Semifinals. Their two doubles teams lost, just like they did in Fuji's past life. The only difference, though, was that Kirihara was not in Singles 3, and instead, it was Sanada. He defeated the other player without as much effort as Kirihara had, and of course, both Fuji and Yukimura won, Yukimura playing Singles 1 for that round.

/This time, though, it was against Seishun Gakuen for Fuji. Instead of playing Singles 2 like he had against Rikkaidai last life, he was playing Singles 1 _for_ Rikkaidai, against none other than Seishun's junior ace, Echizen Ryoma, who had played in Singles 1 against Yukimura in Fuji's past life. Rikkaidai's Doubles 2 had won, their Doubles 1 had lost, their Singles 3 (Sanada) had lost (against Tezuka, who threw his shoulder and tennis career out the window in the process)/, and their Singles 2 (Yukimura) had won (of course). Fuji was now playing Echizen. But this time, Fuji was _much_ better than he was in his past life, bringing out his full potential a lot more than he had done previously. Thus, he defeated Echizen, giving Rikkaidai the title of Champion of the National Tournament for the third year in a row.

And now, both Yukimura and Fuji had graduated from Rikkai Dai Fuzoku. Their graduation was even more elaborate that Kagami's had been. Of course, they chose Kirihara as their successor, since there was currently no one else, and he was _their_ junior ace. Even though they had not been student body president like Kagami had, their graduation party was _huge_, because the students had come to realize that every year Yukimura and Fuji had been on the regulars, Rikkaidai had won the National tournament, and that was an accomplishment for them. Kagami even stopped by their party to congratulate them and wish them luck in high school. Again, Yukimura and Fuji just looked at each other and nodded.

A hand on Fuji's shoulder disrupted his thoughts. "Any reason you're sitting here staring at the sky?" Yukimura asked.

"Not particularly," Fuji replied, looking up at the blue haired boy. "Any reason you randomly stopped by my house?"

"Well, you only live a few blocks down. I figured I'd stop by. After all, this may be the last time we see each other."

Fuji looked at him sharply, his blue eyes snapping open. "No, it's not going to be. This plan _is_ going to work. And we're going to be together in the future. I'm sure of it. Yumiko is sure of it."

"Don't worry, Syusuke," Yukimura said sitting down beside Fuji. "I'm sure it's going to work, too."

"Then don't say things like that," Fuji said.

"It's just hypothetical," Yukimura replied.

"It makes my own confidence waver," Fuji said quietly.

Yukimura took Fuji's hand. "Your confidence waver? From what I've seen of you, which is a lot, I've never seen your confidence waver even once. So don't even tell me that you're losing your confidence. I know it's not true."

"This time, it's true, though," Fuji said, continuing to speak quietly. "Despite what I may have said, this is one of those things that I'm not sure of."

"But didn't you just say that…"

"Yes, I think it's going to work, but I know that if it doesn't, my life will be miserable again. And I don't want that. I want to be with you, Seiichi." Fuji leaned his head on Yukimura's shoulder.

"Syusuke, I want to be with you, too. I want to be with you until the end of time. Just believe in the plan. You were so confident a couple moments ago," Yukimura said. He tilted Fuji's chin up so that they were eye to eye. "Where's the real you? Where's the confident, cocky, slightly arrogant Fuji Syusuke that I know and I love? The independent, graceful, playful, and mischievous Fuji Syusuke?"

"You're right, Seiichi. I should stop thinking like this and just be myself." He smiled once again; through his slightly tear streaked face. "Everything will turn out okay in the end."

"That's the way to be, Syusuke," Yukimura said. "Now how about we go in and get some snacks or something? We should pay Naruko and Sayaka a visit before…" his voice trailed off.

Fuji hugged Yukimura. "Before they leave us," he finished.

"Don't say that," Yukimura said, looking down.

Fuji looked down with him. "I know I don't really understand how you're feeling right now, since Yumiko is not True Light for me, and I'm not really close to Sayaka. But to think that I thought she was so annoying in the past; and she did this all for me to be happy. That is true love, and it is True Light.

"Think of all the things they've done for us. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be here, together, right now. You would be in your world, staring at the 'me' you couldn't have, and I would be in mine, casting a fake smile upon Sayaka, pretending to actually like her to please my family. When, really, both of our hearts belonged elsewhere.

"If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have my racquet. If it weren't for her, the world would be falling apart, just like in our dreams. And most importantly, if it weren't for her, we would be staring out separate windows, unhappy, gazing at the stars and hoping for a false miracle. Even if True Light and the Returners have always been a rumor in the past, I believed in them. I didn't think I'd be one, but I was still grateful toward True Light for being such a kind woman. To think of all those lives she saved."

"Lives saved?" Yukimura said. "She just makes people happy."

Fuji's eyes opened once again, casting Yukimura a dark look. "Though I don't believe it's right, for many people, suicide is an option. Unhappy people commit suicide. That's that. Or they throw their lives away to kill other people. Remember the tragedy of 9/11/2001 that occurred in the United States? Those people, something must have been running through their heads at the moment. They knew that they were killing themselves—they were truly unhappy—but why stop there? That's probably what they were thinking. Imagine if they had gone to the past and corrected their mistakes. Would that tragedy still have happened?

"We may be strong willed, Seiichi, but many people in this world are not. And those are the people that, if they get sent back into the past, they will not try to correct their mistakes. They will just live out their lives as they had done before, and flourish in the moment again, not thinking about the future, and just being grateful that they were allowed to go back and relive it. But we wanted more. We wanted a better future, as well as a better life. Overachievers we may be, but think about it. If this works, in the future, we will be together forever. And that's what counts."

Yukimura looked at Fuji. "Impressive speech. Not at all corny, and it inspired me. And _that's_ what counts." He picked up Fuji. Fuji didn't realize how strong or tall they had both grown, though he was still shorter than Yukimura. "Now, let's go bid them a pleasant farewell." Tears were running down both their faces, since, with the years gone by, Fuji had grown close to Naruko as well, though their personalities sometimes clashed. He saw Sayaka every now and then. He knew that she knew him and saw him, too, but she did not wave nor did he wave to her. She was with Tezuka a lot, and that was exactly what Fuji had _not_ hoped for. But it couldn't be helped. He didn't go to Seishun anymore, anyway.

The two boys continued to walk down the sidewalk, hand in hand, tears still streaming down their faces, yet they smiled through them. They were not tears of joy, nor were they tears of lament. They were just tears. Perhaps of relief, or something else. They did not know themselves.

----------------------------

"This is it," Yumiko said, as she, Syusuke, and Yukimura sat in the Fuji kitchen. "Tonight is the night. We have to return by 12:00 midnight. Any thoughts?"

Syusuke smiled. That was the exact thought that had been running through his own mind this morning. He understood now more than ever any they were brother and sister. "Not really," he replied. "We have to do it no matter what."

"That's what I was thinking, too, Syusuke," Yukimura said. He grasped Syusuke's hand. "We know that this plan will work, anyway."

"Confident, aren't we?" Yumiko said.

The two boys, now fifteen, the age Naruko had been when they had first met, looked at each other. "We had a talk about it this morning," Syusuke said simply, smiling his usual care-free smile.

There was a silence, and Yukimura got up. "Good luck, Syusuke, Yumiko. I guess I should be going. We'll see each other in the new world."

"And where do you think _you're_ going?" Yumiko asked.

Yukimura looked at her. "Home, of course. I don't want to stay longer than I am welcome."

"Seiichi, you should already know that you're welcome as long as you want," Syusuke said.

"You mean…"

Syusuke smiled again. "Seiichi, would you like to sleep over tonight?" They got up and hugged each other.

----------------------------

There was only a minute left. Yumiko held Syusuke's hand, who held Yukimura's hand, who held Yumiko's other hand. They stood in a triangular shape. Yumiko smiled at them. "Everyone, good luck."

The two boys smiled up at her. They were surrounded by a, though not visible, warm glow that seemed to put them at peace. They might have been nervous all day, but right now, all they were thinking of was the future. They hoped for the best, for everyone, including themselves.

Suddenly, the world began to spin around them. The wind picked up, though they were inside the house. Still holding each other, they stepped out into the front lawn, and into the midnight star filled sky. Leaves rustled and flew off of trees, and there were no animals out. The only light was the bright reflection of the moon and the stars in the sky. The houses around them were all dark, and the lights even went out in their own house. The street lamps were out, and they could barely see each other, though they knew that they were there, since they were still holding hands.

"I suppose now would be the opportune time to return," Yumiko said quietly, and the two boys nodded alongside her. At the end of her sentence, even the moon and the stars went out. Everything was pitch black, and they felt a force pulling them from each other. They grasped on to each other's hands as tightly as they could, knowing that if they lost their hands, they may lose what was left of the other person.

The pitch black world then turned white, and the force stopped, right when it was about to get too bad for them to bear. They knew they each sighed, though no sound was heard. But then, they felt each other's hands dissolve in their own, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

* * *

ZOMG!!!!!!! A real cliffie this time! I am evil! And I'm sorry about that! If I had made it all one chapter, it would've been REALLY long, and this was the best moment to split them at! Again, I'm so sorry about leaving you guys on a cliffhanger!

'Kay, I'm not so sure about the 9/11 thing, it was just the event I could relate to the most, since I live in the US. I just made everything up in this chapter! So don't yell at me, please! D; And Fuji makes a very...um...long speech! And there's a lot of hugging in this chapter (I only realized that when I read it over again). Please review! And wait patiently for the next chapter! Again, I'm so sorry for leaving you guys hanging!


	13. Chapter 13

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

Homigarsh! You're probably really relieved one this came out, because of the tension of a cliffhanger (I know how that is, I read fanfictions, too). But yeah, this is the last chapter, not including the Epilogue that will totally conclude the story. It's sad (that the story is ending), but hopefully, you'll like my next story, which I'm, like, done with:D So read, review, and enjoy!

**Chapter 13:**

Fuji Syusuke awoke to warmth. He had not opened his eyes yet, and he dared not. Why didn't he want to open his eyes? Oh, he remembered, and he was grateful that he did. Their plan. Had it worked? Where was he? He felt a warm, fluffy mattress under him, and something was familiar about it, though he knew that it wasn't Sayaka's bed that he was in.

He heard someone's even breathing next to him, and he couldn't tell if that person was a girl or a guy. Nor could he tell if he or she was awake or not. A warm comforter covered his body, and arms were wrapped around him. Curse it, he thought, because he could tell if the arms belonged to a guy or a girl either.

Fuji finally decided to open his eyes. He would have to do it sooner or later, anyway. He sighed quietly and slowly but surely, his eyes opened. He saw the person next to him was facing him, and their eyes were opening simultaneously to his. Icy indigo eyes with impenetrable sharpness. Pale complexion, a gentle look on their face, and most importantly, blue wavy hair that was now past their chin.

Fuji felt the covers shift, an arm around him moved and a hand reached up and stroked his left cheek. "Are you the Fuji Syusuke I know?" Yukimura Seiichi said, tightening his hold on the smaller (still) young man. Fuji leaned his head on Yukimura's chest, a habit he still had.

"Did we do it?" Fuji asked quietly.

Yukimura's blank face suddenly turned into a bright, charming smile. "You've just confirmed that we did," Yukimura whispered in Fuji's ear.

Fuji looked up. "We did it," he breathed. "We did it. I can't believe it."

"And yet, you're living in it," Yukimura said, still smiling. Fuji couldn't hold back his own smile, not that he wanted to. Yukimura got off the bed, carrying Fuji with his in his arms and hugged Fuji close.

"Mommy and daddy are awake!" two high pitched voices shouted simultaneously. Fuji looked at the open door and two kids bounced into the room. One was a boy and one was a girl, and they were the same age. The boy looked like a replica of Fuji, and the girl was staring to look like Naruko.

Yukimura and Fuji looked at each other. "Mommy?" Fuji said aloud. This was the first time that Yukimura could solidly focus on Fuji's appearance, and he couldn't hold back a chuckle. "What?" Fuji said.

"Nothing," Yukimura replied slyly.

"You're hiding something!" Fuji said, still in Yukimura's arms.

"I may be," Yukimura said.

Fuji sighed and ran his hand through his hair, like he had been doing all his life. He stopped when he noticed that his hair didn't end at his chin, or even his shoulders. "Dear god," Fuji said. "I don't even want to see it." That was all it took for Yukimura to burst into laughter. Fuji's hand ran down his own tresses in jerky, slow, un-Fuji-like movements, until the hair finally ended near his stomach. "I'm going to get a hair cut first thing today," Fuji said resolutely.

"Relax," Yukimura said. "Your hair makes you look pretty. It's soft and silky, and now very long." Then, he added under his breath, "I understand why they call you 'mommy', though."

"No kidding," Fuji said. He looked at the kids again. They looked a lot like…suddenly, his breath caught in his throat. "No way…" he murmured, not quite aware that he had actually said it out loud.

"No way what?" Yukimura asked him.

"Keita? Keina!" Fuji shouted, jumping out of Yukimura arms and hugged the kids close to him.

"We love you, too, mommy," Keita said.

Fuji turned around and faced Yukimura again. "Seiichi," he said quietly, so that the kids would not hear him. "These were my kids when I was married to Sayaka. They're twins, and their names are Keita, the boy, and Keina."

"Oh," Yukimura said. He smiled. "No wonder Keina looks so much like Naruko, then."

The same thought ran through both their heads at the exact same time. _Naruko, Sayaka, Tamao_… "I wonder…" Fuji said gravely. He walked over to the TV and turned it on to their local news channel. Which was in English, because they were currently living in a suburb outside New York City.

"Last night, three women were found to have gone missing. One was the famous model, commonly known as 'Tamao Strawberry' in America, and 'Ichigo Tamao' in Japan. One was the lead singer in the pop idol band 'N.A.O.', Yukimura Naruko, and one was the sponsor of both of them, creating the line of 'Tamao-chan products', Tezuka Sayaka, married to the famous tennis pro, Tezuka Kunimitsu.

"This morning, all three of their bodies were found dead. We do not know the cause of this or why it happened, but all of our heads are down today as we mourn for the three beautiful females that contributed so much to the Japanese, and even in some cases American culture."

Fuji turned off the TV at that moment. "That's all we needed to hear, thank you," he said quietly. On the table was a letter that he failed to notice before. That's strange, he thought. I could've sworn there was nothing on the table before. He picked up the white envelope, and in neat script, the same that was used to write that book that Yukimura and him had first read when they figured out about Returners, a long time ago, it was addressed 'To Seiichi, Yumiko, and Syusuke'.

Fuji grabbed his cellphone and dialed his sister's number. "Hello?" she said when she answered it.

"Yumiko?"

"Syusuke?"

"Quick. Come over to my house. There's a letter from True Light addressed to us," Fuji said.

"Syusuke! I'm glad it worked. You saw the news, right?"

There was a moment of silence on the line. "…Yeah," Yukimura and Fuji said. "We saw what happened."

Yumiko paused also. "…Then I'll be coming right over."

In a couple minutes, the door opened to reveal Yumiko. She looked older, but she still looked beautiful. Her hair was now straight and layered, and it had dark brown highlights. It was a lot shorter, the length of her shoulders at longest, but still shining. She took one look at Fuji and smiled.

"Yes. I know my hair is long," he said. "Let's read the letter first, _and then_ comment on each other's appearances."

Fuji carefully tore open the envelope and slowly pulled out the letter inside. Again, clean white paper. Yukimura was now leaning over him and the letter, reading it.

_Seiichi, Yumiko, and Syusuke:_

_Wow. I can't believe that plan. It was absolutely ingenious, and I had not even thought of it. Yumiko, a lot of credit goes to you for thinking of the plan, and how to keep our brothers together. Seiichi and Syusuke, good job developing the relationship, going along with the plan, and believing in yourselves and Yumiko._

_So, I guess it's over now. Yes, what you just saw on the TV was correct. I am dead, in all my forms. Nothing happened; I just drop dead of an unknown cause. Sorry if this letter may sound awkward, because I normally don't send letters to any of the Returners. Of course you know you're already the most special of the special. Thank you for bearing with my failure project, and I know I'm not going to do that again. The past world has been discarded of properly, and if you think that means 'destroyed', you're wrong. I'm not cruel hearted, no matter the person I'm acting as._

_When you saw this envelope, were you expecting a long, touching letter that was supposed to make you cry? Well, I have one thing to say. Too bad. I'm not big on those kinds of letters, and in fact, I don't really write at all. But thank you very much for saving the world that you were in. That took immense courage and self discipline, and you believed in yourself all the way through. And that's what counts._

_Remember, I'll always be with you even though Naruko, Tamao, and Sayaka may not be. We'll meet again some other time, hopefully. Maybe I'll see you soon. Maybe not._

_True Light_

_PS: Comfort each other and those around you that may have known me. You'll need it._

"Short, sweet, to the point. That's just like her," Fuji said quietly. Even the kids were silent, old and mature enough to know that something important was going on.

A tear slid down Yumiko's cheek. "Well, she managed to make me cry, even if that may not have been her purpose," Yumiko said, voice cracking slightly. The two boys nodded is response, each crying their own tears.

"When will we see you again?" Yukimura asked, to no one in particular.

Suddenly, script started writing itself across the paper from where it left off. All three adults leaned over the paper to read it.

_I'm actually not supposed to do this, so don't tell. This is the last you'll hear of me, probably, until you die. Maybe we'll meet in the next life, and maybe we won't. It all depends on you. But don't be sad on purpose, just to see me, because you won't. You have to be _truly_ unhappy. Just make this life count._

At that moment, the piece of paper shimmered in Fuji's hands and dissolved into nothing. The three Returners looked out the window into the sky. "We'll make this life count, True Light," Fuji said.

Yukimura added, "Don't you worry, older sister."

Yumiko said, "That's what we're here for, right?"

* * *

Awwww, Naruko, Tamao, even Sayaka. I feel bad for them. D: They all died! But Yukimura and Fuji ended up together. And the plan worked:D So yeah, this is the last chapter until the epilogue. Which will be uploaded and added soon. :D Please review? 


	14. Epilogue

**To Return**

**Summary:** Have you ever heard the saying, 'They need to stop living in the past'? For three selected people, it's literally true.

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai

**Pairings: **Yukimura x Fuji

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis is not mine.

Okay, here's the epilogue. I hope the last chapter touched you guys. :'D I really hope you enjoyed this story, and I hope you stay on FFNET to enjoy the rest of my stories that I will continue to write. YukiFuji will always be one of my favorite pairings, no matter how much I may neglect it sometimes. You might see a faint hint of it in my next stories to come, or maybe a YukiFuji friendship. Anyway, enjoy the REAL last chapter of my story, the epilogue (yes, it's short). And thank you all for reading, and supporting this story! And you reviewers will always be the best!

**Epilogue:**

Fuji smiled and walked along the gravel pathway. He listened to the leaves rustle in the wind, and the birds chirp in the trees. His hand was held tightly in Yukimura's. The sun was shining down pleasantly on the graveyard that they were visiting. Today, August 15, 2019, a year from when they returned, they were going from cemetery to cemetery, setting flowers on True Light's graves. They put pink flowers on Tamao's, blue on Naruko's, and they had just put red flowers on Sayaka's.

On Sayaka's grave, Fuji left a picture of him, Yukimura, and Yumiko with each other, from many years ago. He didn't know if True Light would get it or not, but it was worth a try. He had many copies of that picture, anyway, but he wanted her to have the original.

The twins were at a day care for the summer, and the two were free to do all they liked until the evening. They walked around the suburban area for a while, grateful to be away from the New York City commute and commotion. It was nice to have it quiet once in a while.

Fuji tugged at his necklace lightly. It was just a silver chain with a little silver sphere attached to it, but he loved it very much, because it was given to him by Yukimura. His silver bracelet was given to him by Yumiko, and it was basically a chain of small links. He was wearing a thin, light blue collared shirt and khaki shorts that reached about his knees. His hair was tied up in a high ponytail. He decided not to get it cut after all.

"Want some ice cream? My treat," Yukimura said, breaking Fuji's trance.

Fuji looked up and saw that a few blocks down, there was a small ice cream shop. "Sure," he replied and followed Yukimura.

They walked into the shop, and when the door opened, a little bell rang. Yukimura sighed. "So much for staying inconspicuous," he said, raking his hand through his hair. The people in the shop looked at the door.

"Kyaaaaa!!!!!! It's Yukimura Seiichi and Fuji Syusuke!" the girls in the shop said in their fluent English, though they pronounced their names perfectly. Yukimura was an author, and he liked to use the penname 'Yuki' in America, but people still liked to call him by his real name better. Fuji's name was easy enough to sound out, and he was a photographer.

"Can I have your autograph?" a girl boldly asked them in fluent Japanese. She had frameless glasses, a pale complexion, and long, black, wavy hair that reached her waist and shone in the sunlight that was streaming through the large windows in the front of the shop. Yukimura and Fuji looked at each other. They were thinking the same thing at that moment. _She looks like…_

"Sure," Fuji replied first. He took out a pen from his pocket and signed her notebook, and Yukimura signed after him. They closed her book and handed it back to her, but not before noticing the cover. It read, 'T.L. Takada Lei's Notebook'. Fuji assumed she was half Vietnamese or something, but then he noticed the 'T.L'.

T…L…"True Light!" both Yukimura and Fuji said at the same time in Japanese.

She took back the notebook and smiled at them. "Never thought it would happen, but we've seemed to have met again," she said and walked out the door behind them, humming a tune. She stopped one more time. "Thanks for the photo, by the way. I took the original and put a copy there. It's great to see you two again."

The other girls hovering around them were asking, "What did you say? What did you say?" in English, but they just smiled to themselves.

---------------------------

Tezuka Kunimitsu entered the cemetery the evening of August 15, 2019. This day was exactly one year after his beloved, Sayaka, had died. He had a handful of red roses and was about to set them on her grave when he noticed that there were already red flowers on the grave. _What's this? _He thought. He bent down and picked up the photo that was set on top of the flowers, surprised that the wind had not blown it away.

The front was glossy, almost as if it had been printed that day. There were two boys hugging each other and a smiling girl that didn't look like Sayaka. The shorter of the boys had brown hair that reached past his chin and feminine features, while the other also was very feminine and had blue wavy hair that grew to his chin. The girl had honey colored hair that flipped out and fell past her shoulders. On the back, it said _To True Light, from Seiichi, Yumiko, and Syusuke_.

He knew the two boys from somewhere. Their teams had played each other in the various tennis tournaments he had been in when he was young. So they were in New York now, huh? But for some reason, he felt like he had known them for so much longer than he actually had…

* * *

BWAHAHAHA. It ends with Tezuka, who I have SEVERELY neglected in this story. SEVERELY. I love TezuFuji, but I really abuse it sometimes. Tezuka's always breaking Fuji's heart. Two stories down the road, I PROMISE it will be strictly TezuFuji. After 'A Kiss to Remember', I'm planning out a fantasy story called 'Mirror Mirror', and that will be strictly _strictly_ TezuFuji. Well, there may be some other pairings hinted. But it will be TezuFuji throughout. Anyway, I really hope you liked this story! YukiFuji is so much luff. They're the best. Stay tuned for my next story, which should, if it isn't already up, be up in the next couple of days or so. 'A Kiss to Remember', RyoFuji and TezuFuji are the main pairings (love triangle-ish). Saeki and Yukimura are also featured in that story.

Thank you readers, and much thanks to reviewers! You guys keep me going. I seriously love you. ILU. NEVER FORGET THAT. :'D


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